“Our Father Who art in Heaven…”

“YES?” [Off-stage with booming bass and reverb]
(Pause) “Our Father Who art in Heaven…”

“YES? WHAT DO YOU WANT, BEN?”

“Who is this?”

“WHO DO YOU THINK IT IS?”

“I don’t know, not too many people I know sound like this!”

“I SHOULD HOPE NOT.”

“Come on now, who is this really?”

“THIS IS YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN, BEN.”

“Right…”

“THIS IS GOD… DO YOU WANT ME TO PROVE IT?”

“No, no, no, that’s all right. I believe You! But why have started talking to me now? You’ve never done this before.”

“BUT YOU CALLED ME.”

“Called You? I was just leading us in prayer.”

“WELL, HERE I AM. WHY DID YOU CALL?”

“I was just, You know, praying.”

“GOOD, GO RIGHT ON.”

“Our Father Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name…”

“WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY THAT?”

“By what?”

“BY ‘HALLOWED BE THY NAME.’”

“It means… It means… I don’t know what it means. It’s just part of the prayer. What does it mean?”

“IT MEANS ‘HONORED, HOLY, WONDERFUL.’”

“Oh. Thank You, Lord. ‘Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.’”

“DO YOU REALLY MEAN THAT?”

“Sure. Why do You ask?”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT?”

“Doing? Not much, I guess. That’s why I asked You. I just think it would be great if You got control of everything down here, like You have up there.”

“HAVE I GOT CONTROL OF YOU?”

“Well, I am the preacher here. I’m here at the church all the time. I visit people; I lead or am part of Bible studies several times a week…”

“THAT’S NOT WHAT I ASKED YOU. WHAT ABOUT THOSE BAD HABITS OF YOURS THAT YOU KNOW ARE IN DIRECT CONFLICT WITH MY WILL IN YOUR LIFE?”

“But Lord, I’m just as good as most of the people in the church!”

“EXCUSE ME. I THOUGHT YOU WERE PRAYING FOR MY WILL TO BE DONE. IF THAT IS TO HAPPEN, IT WILL HAVE TO START WITH THE ONES WHO ARE PRAYING FOR IT. LIKE YOU, FOR EXAMPLE.”

“Yeah… I guess I do have some hang-ups…

“GOOD. NOW WE’RE GETTING SOMEWHERE. WE’LL WORK TOGETHER, YOU AND I. SOME TREMENDOUS VICTORIES CAN BE WON. I’M PROUD OF YOU.”

“Umm, Lord? This is taking a lot longer than it usually does… Can You let me finish up here? (Pause.) ‘Give us this day our daily bread…’”

“YOU NEED TO CUT OUT THE BREAD. YOU’RE OVERWEIGHT AS IT IS.”

“Hey, what is this, gang up on the Pastor day?”

“AND YOUR DAILY BIBLE READING’S BEEN FALLING AWAY.”

“Lord?!”

“PRAYING IS A DANGEROUS THING. YOU COULD WIND UP CHANGED, YOU KNOW. THAT’S WHAT I’M TRYING TO GET ACROSS TO YOU. YOU CALLED ME, AND HERE I AM. IT’S TOO LATE TO STOP NOW, BEN. KEEP ON PRAYING. I’M REALLY INTERESTED IN THIS NEXT PART… (PAUSE) WELL, GO ON.”

“I don’t want to.”

“WHY NOT?”

“I know what You’ll say.”

“TRY ME AND SEE.”

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors…”

“WHAT ABOUT…?”

“See, I knew it! I knew You would bring them up! But You know the lies they’ve told about me, and they continue until this very day. I have lost friends because of them, not to mention what has been done to my reputation…”

“FORGIVE THEM. THEN I WILL FORGIVE YOU. THEN THE HATE AND SIN WILL BE THEIR PROBLEM AND NOT YOURS. YOU WILL HAVE SETTLED THE MATTER IN YOUR HEART AND BEFORE MY THRONE.”

(Petulant) “But Lord, I can’t forgive them.”

“THEN, I CAN’T FORGIVE YOU.”

(Pause) “Okay. More than I want to hurt them back, I want to be right with You. So, alright: I forgive them. I am tired of always feeling miserable. And now that I think about it, I guess no one can cause me to feel miserable unless I let them. But, please help me, Lord. Help me to let my actions do the talking in showing forgiveness. I am really going to need Your help, and Your grace, and Your Spirit.”

“THERE, NOW! WONDERFUL! HOW DO YOU FEEL?”

“Hmmm. Not bad. Not bad at all! In fact, I feel pretty good! You know, I don’t think I’ll have to go to bed uptight tonight for the first time in a long time! Maybe I won’t be so tired from now on for not getting enough rest.”

“YOU’RE NOT FINISHED WITH YOUR PRAYER, BEN. GO ON.”

“Okay! ‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

“GOOD! GOOD! I’LL DO THAT. JUST DON’T PUT YOURSELF IN A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN BE TEMPTED.”

“I don’t understand.”

“SURE YOU DO. YOU HAVE DONE IT A LOT OF TIMES. YOU GET CAUGHT IN A BAD SITUATION, YOU GET INTO TROUBLE, AND THEN YOU COME RUNNING TO ME, ‘LORD, HELP ME OUT OF THIS MESS AND I PROMISE YOU I’LL NEVER DO IT AGAIN.’ YOU REMEMBER SOME OF THOSE BARGAINS YOU TRIED TO MAKE WITH ME, DON’T YOU?”

“Yes… I’m sorry… It’s embarrassing, Lord. I’m really sorry.”

“WHICH BARGAIN ARE YOU REMEMBERING?”

“Oh, come on, Lord… Give me a break! I’m sorry, Lord. I really am!”

“GO AHEAD AND FINISH YOUR PRAYER.”

“For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and glory, forever and ever.”

“DO YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BRING ME GLORY? WHAT WOULD REALLY MAKE ME HAPPY?”

“No, but I’d like to. You make me so happy, I’d really like to make You happy, Lord. I know I’ve made a real mess out of my life. And I can see how great it would really be if I truly followed You more obediently.”

“YOU JUST ANSWERED MY QUESTION.”

“I did?”

“YES. THE THING THAT WOULD REALLY BRING ME GLORY IS TO HAVE PEOPLE LIKE YOU TRULY LOVE ME. AND I SEE THAT HAPPENING BETWEEN US, NOW THAT SOME OF THOSE OLD SINFUL ATTITUDES ARE EXPOSED AND OUT OF THE WAY… THERE’S NO TELLING WHAT WE CAN DO TOGETHER!”

“Amen!”

Many Christians would love to have such a personal and conversational prayer life with God. And yet I know that many who love the Lord, and are walking closely and joyfully with Him, neglect such friendly conversation because they don’t think they have the flowery language or verbal skills to talk with Him rightly.

But the Bible tells us that it’s

boldness, and

asking for His will to be done (at least, as well as we know His will at the time), and

trusting that He’s listening when we pray,

that are the keys to faithful praying; not the words we use or how we speak them.

But we must pray. We must speak to and hear from our Father to be a part of the harvest-work He is doing in the world. And we must speak to and hear from Him in order to be the faithful royal-priesthood He’s set us in the world to be. So here are some helps, if you’re among the many struggling with prayer.

First, commit to a time and place for prayer each day. It doesn’t have to be the same time and the same place each day, though that often helps. But if your schedule is erratic then schedule your prayer times and places accordingly. But schedule it – put it on your calendar as you would any other important meeting or playdate or appointment – and commit to your schedule. The devil does not want us to pray, so we ought not expect “time for prayer” to mystically appear. We need to make the time, and treasure it…

Next, when you pray, believe that the Lord is present. When we were at the Wintercamp Youth Retreat last weekend I saw a girl who was sitting in a booth by herself. I invited her to join us at our table where we were playing UNO. But she told us she was sitting at the booth picturing God sitting across from her, and that she was praying, talking with Him.

In like ways, I often take walks with God: I go for a walk trusting that He is there walking alongside me. And I talk to Him, sometimes looking over in His direction, and as I speak sometimes I clearly hear Him respond to me. Other times there’s just silence.

But you can sit at a table in your home with the Lord, or on your couch together. If it helps, close your eyes. When we keep our eyes open we can think He’s not there because we can’t see Him. But with our eyes closed we can know He’s there, as, by faith, we picture Him physically present with us.

Lastly, consider keeping a record of your prayers. Recording our prayers sets an expectation within us to be watching and listening for the Lord’s responses. And keeping track helps us, over time, edit what we’ve asked Him for as our understanding of His will changes and grows. And, of course, seeing the list of prayers He’s answered or responded to encourages us in our prayers during times it seems difficult to pray.

Most of all, don’t give up. Intimacy in any relationship takes time: Time together talking and listening; time together in quiet just enjoying each other’s company; time to grow in understanding the other’s ways, and habits, and patterns. It’s that way with our Father in Heaven, too.

(For those of you who want to try taking walks with God, I have some leaflets of guided “Prayer Walk” up-front here that focus on different aspects of our encounter with Jesus Christ. There’s seven or eight different ones, and they’re up here for the taking.)

James 1:1-8 [NLTse]

¹ This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad.

Greetings!

² Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. ³ For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. ⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

⁵ If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. ⁶ But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

Last week we saw an angel-messenger from God telling the prophet Daniel that the Almighty had heard Daniel’s prayer and begun to act the very day Daniel had first prayed. And we asked, “Then why so often the delays to our prayers?” We talked about the need for persistence in our prayers – to never give up praying until we receive God’s response! And yet we acknowledged occasions where we’ve prayed and prayed and prayed and yet it seemed that nothing much happened.

So today we’re going to look at why, sometimes, our prayers go unanswered. And looking across the Scriptures there seems to be several basic reasons: uuu

1. Sometimes it’s because we haven’t kept asking, kept seeking, and kept knocking as the Lord calls us to. Sin and the power of evil in this world is strong, and it takes more than quickie, half-hearted requests to stir the powers of Heaven to overwhelm the powers of Hell;
2. Sometimes the Lord has responded to our prayers, but we haven’t liked His response, so we keep on praying;
3. Sometimes we ask God for things He doesn’t want to give us;
4. Sometimes God doesn’t respond to our prayers because we’ve separated ourselves from Him through hard-hearted sin or falling back into old sinful ways; and, lastly,
5. Sometimes the answers to our prayers are delayed because what we’ve asked the Lord for simply takes much time.

uuu First we said that sometimes it’s because we haven’t kept asking, kept seeking, and kept knocking as the Lord calls us to. We talked about that last week, so let’s go on.

uuu Sometimes the Lord has responded to our prayers, but we haven’t liked His response, so we keep on praying hoping we’ll get a different answer this time. Like when we plug an address into our GPS? Directions to get where we’re going pop up, but maybe we don’t like that route – we wanna go another way – so we hit the button for an alternate plan.

But God’s not a GPS, letting us pray again and pray again until we get the answer we want to get from Him. No, He’s made us; He’s purchased us on the cross; and He knows what we need to live abundant lives of great meaning and purpose! Pretending the Lord hasn’t responded to our prayers in the hopes of getting a better, different answer is just fooling ourselves.

Arguing against God’s Way must have been a constant struggle for Moses, because we see it throughout his life, including this clear example from just before he died. The Lord told Moses he would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land. uuu And Moses writes, “At that time I pleaded with the LORD and said, ‘O Sovereign LORD, You have only begun to show Your greatness and the strength of Your hand to me, Your servant. Is there any god in Heaven or on Earth who can perform such great and mighty deeds as You do? Please let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon mountains.” uuu

“But the LORD was angry with me,” Moses went on, “and He would not listen to me. ‘That’s enough!’ [the Lord] declared. ‘Speak of it no more.’” (Deuteronomy 3:23-27)

It’s God’s version of what some people today call “tough love”. We human beings want to do what we want: What feels good and keeps us from too many difficulties, even if it means we remain stuck in habitual troubles. But God loves us too much for that: “That’s enough!” He says. And He gets us going, even when we don’t like it.

Another reason God doesn’t seem to answer our prayers (that’s similar to this) is when sometimes we ask God for things He doesn’t want to give us. uuu Jesus said, “You can ask for anything in My name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it!” (John 14:13-14) So you might think, “If I want a fine car like the pastor drives, you just ask God for one in the name of Jesus.” (I used my car as a example so none of you would think I was picking on you. J) Do we truly think that tacking Jesus’ name onto the end of some self-serving prayer would make God have to do as we’ve asked?

But James (Jesus’ half-brother, and the leader of the church in Jerusalem in the First Century) wrote to his congregation, “You don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.” We want to be healed, but not necessarily so we can get back out there doing good, caring for the poor and weak, and sharing Christ. We want to have money, but not necessarily to promote God’s purposes and set people free around the world. We want this or that relationship reconciled, but not necessarily for Jesus’ plans and Jesus’ sake. We want this or that or some other thing, but not necessarily because it’s going to serve God’s purposes in our lives.

Face it, many of our requests are vain and prideful and self-centered. And as the best, most loving Father, God is set to move Heaven and Earth just to keep us comfortable, so we can look good to others, and live our lives the way we want to live them.

But don’t be discouraged. Can you imagine that the apostle Paul was like this, and he tells the Corinthians, “I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

“Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9) (Just an aside, notice Paul doesn’t assume God’s telling him that His grace will be sufficient; Paul doesn’t stop praying until God makes His response clear to him.)

So Paul wanted this “thorn in the flesh” removed. And that seems okay, doesn’t it? I mean, what problem could there be in asking God to keep Satan’s tormenting-messenger’s away from him, right? And yet, sometimes the physical ailments we have and the financial difficulties we go through and the relational breaks we experience and the gossip we have to endure are given to us by God to keep us from becoming vain, proud, and selfish. God gives them as a strange gift, an unasked for blessing. A blessing we don’t know is good for us, and the Lord doesn’t want to take them away…

uuu Another reason the Lord doesn’t answer our prayers, or delays for long periods of time, is because sometimes we’ve separated ourselves from Him through hard-heartedness and nurturing sin in our lives. For example, uuu Simon Peter writes, “You husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.” (1 Peter 3:7)

Jesus came to serve. So whether we’re a guy or a gal, when we misuse authority God has given us (in our various roles and relationships) we cut ourselves off from Him. uuu Proverbs says it this way, “Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need.” (21:13)

uuu Isaiah cries, “Listen! The LORD’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is His ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, He has turned away and will not listen anymore.” (59:1-2)

Ever seen the bumper sticker, “If God seems far away, guess who moved?” Yeah. Sometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers because we’ve turned away from Him, and He wants us to turn back.

uuu Of course, sometimes God seems to not be responding to our prayers simply because what we’ve asked Him for takes a long time for Him to give us, especially since He wants to give us more and better than what we ever ask Him for. Look at Job.

Before all of his trials, Job was among the wealthiest and most influential men of his day, a vigorous man with a big happy family of seven sons and three daughters. The Book of Job describes how all of that was taken away from him by the Devil hoping he could get Job to curse God. Job wouldn’t however, but across the pages of that book we read Job asking God again and again to help him understand the reason for his trials, and asking the Lord to restore him to his place of righteous-influence in his community.

Would you open your Bibles to Job 30:20… Job is praying here, “I cry to You, O God, but You don’t answer. I stand before You, but You don’t even look.” It’s the prayer of many who have prayed and prayed and prayed but received no answer.

If you’ll keep your finger in that page, but now turn to Job 42:12… We read, “The LORD blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. [That’s twice as many as before.] He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

“Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.”

Sometimes there’s such a delay in our prayers being answered simply because

when we’re living for God rightly

and walking with God closely,

and asking the Lord to bless us so that we can be His blessing to others,

Sometimes it can just take a long time for God to give us all the good things He has for us in answer those kinds of prayers. J

Ascription of Praise

All glory to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, forever. Amen?

Traditional Worship: [“I Need Thee Every Hour” (Hymn #428, vv. 1, 2, 3, 4)]

Contemporary Worship: [Closing Worship]

Charge

Daniel 10:1-14 [NLTse]

¹ In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) had another vision. He understood that the vision concerned events certain to happen in the future—times of war and great hardship.

² When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks. ³ All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed.

⁴ On April 23, as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River, ⁵ I looked up and saw a Man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around His waist. ⁶ His body looked like a precious gem. His face flashed like lightning, and His eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and His voice roared like a vast multitude of people.

⁷ Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. The men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly terrified and ran away to hide. ⁸ So I was left there all alone to see this amazing vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak. ⁹ Then I heard the Man speak, and when I heard the sound of His voice, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground.

¹⁰ Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. ¹¹ And the Man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When He said this to me, I stood up, still trembling.

¹² Then He said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in Heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. ¹³ But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help Me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.”

Many Christians don’t understand prayer; some even believe it doesn’t really matter whether they pray or not. They either believe God’s going to do what He’s going to do anyway (so why bother?) or they see prayer as a last resort after all of their other efforts have failed: They’ll pray a little bit; they’ll throw up occasional appeals; but, in their heart of hearts, they don’t view prayer as making that big an impact on their circumstances or the decisions they make every day.

Does that describe you?

I find that so hard to believe because the Bible shows prayer to be a very simple thing: A personal conversation, interaction, an audience with the King of the Universe, Who is also our Father…

The Bible shows us God visiting and talking with Adam and Eve in the “cool of the afternoon”; challenging Cain about his attitude toward his brother, Abel; Enoch taking walks with God; the Lord and Abraham standing on a hillside overlooking Sodom and Gomorrah discussing those cities’ fate; Moses receiving the plans for the Tabernacle and the words of the Law, and returning from every with meeting with his face shining in reflection of God’s glory; we see the prophets interacting with our Father in all sorts of different ways…

There’s no evidence that these old saints always visibly saw God or necessarily heard His audible voice each time, but the accounts are clear that they knew they were speaking to Him, and that He was speaking to them, and guiding them and helping them…

Daniel (called Belteshazzar by the Babylonians) met with God three times every day. He prayed in his room. He prayed in the lions’ den. He prayed for wisdom. He prayed for guidance. He prayed that God would forgive the sins of His people Israel and return them to their home. And, in this mornings’ reading, we find Daniel has been struggling in prayer for twenty-one days because he’s troubled by a dream he’s had…

Anyone here every prayed for twenty-one days about some matter or concern? Yeah, few Christians hang in with the Lord for that long. We’re a fast-food, instant coffee, microwave kind of people. If we don’t get immediate answers from God too many Christians give up, thinking God doesn’t hear or doesn’t care.

However, Luke writes how “One day Jesus told His disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. ‘There was a judge in a certain city,’ He said, ‘who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy. The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!

“Then the Lord said, ‘Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the Earth who have faith?’” (18:1-8)

Notice here that the Lord Jesus seems to equate praying – and never giving up in prayer – with faith; that is, if we truly trust God we will keep on asking, keep on crying out, we’ll keep on praying until we get a response from Him.

The Lord spoke of this again when He said, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) Unspoken in this teaching is the idea if you don’t “keep on asking” that, perhaps, you won’t receive what you’ve asked for; if you don’t “keep on seeking” that, perhaps, you won’t find; if you don’t “keep on knocking” that, perhaps, the door won’t be opened to you.

Paul Harvey once told a story about a three year old boy who went to the grocery store with his mother. Before they entered the grocery store she said to him, “Now you’re not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don’t even ask.”

She put him up in the cart and he sat in the little child’s seat while she wheeled down the aisles. He was doing just fine until they came to the cookie section. He saw the chocolate chip cookies and he stood up in the seat and said, “Mom, can I have some chocolate chip cookies?” She said, “I told you not even to ask. You’re not going to get any at all.” So he sat back down.

They continued down the aisles, but in their search for certain items they ended up back in the cookie aisle. “Mom, can I please have some chocolate chip cookies?” She said, “I told you that you can’t have any. Now sit down and be quiet.”

Finally, they were approaching the checkout lane. The little boy sensed that this may be his last chance. So just before they got to the line, he stood up on the seat of the cart and shouted in his loudest voice, “In the name of Jesus, may I have some chocolate chip cookies?”

And everybody round-about just laughed. Some even applauded. And, due to the generosity of the other shoppers, the little boy and his mother left with twenty-three boxes of chocolate chip cookies!

We ought always to pray and not give up…

But why? Why should we always pray and not give up? I mean, is God deaf? Is it hard to get His attention? Do we have to keep bothering Him until He throws up His hands in disgust and says, “If I don’t grant their request I’ll never get any rest?”

No. That doesn’t seem right considering the God we come to know in the Scriptures. And our reading this morning seems to be saying something else altogether.

Let’s look at Daniel 10:10-12 from our reading. Notice it says, “Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God your words were heard,” and the Man says, “and I have come in response to them.” (vs. 12)

If you’re familiar with Daniel you know this isn’t the first time Daniel has heard this from God’s messengers. In 9:23 Daniel was told, “As soon as you began to pray an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed…” (Daniel 9:23)

In the cross of Christ, the almighty God shows us how highly esteemed we are to Him, and every time you and I pray not only does God gladly hear our prayers, but an angel is immediately sent from God’s presence to give us His response.

“Why all the delays?” you might ask. “Pastor, I may not keep on asking and seeking and knocking as God calls us to, but there have been many occasions where I have prayed a whole heck of a lot! And nothing seems to have happened. What about those times?”

We’ll talk next week about prayers that seem to go unanswered, but for today our reading does give us some insights as to why there can be delays between the times of our prayers and the times we see them responded to…

The messenger tells Daniel, “Since the first day you began to pray … your request has been heard in Heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way.” The angel is telling Daniel (and us) that when Daniel prayed, demonic forces rose up (this one was called “the spirit-prince of kingdom of Persia”) and battles between angels and demons broke out. So, sometimes, when God doesn’t seem to respond to our prayers – although we may not see it – sometimes it’s the powers of Hell rising up seeking to get in God’s way, seeking to discourage us by delaying the Lord’s response, seeking to harden our hearts and pollute our minds against our Savior by speaking their little deceptions and half-truths in our eager ears. Yet when we keep on praying we see that God’s angels are willing to fight for us to bring answers to our prayers!

Are you praying for someone in your family to become a Christian? Know that every prayer you pray puts more and more pressure on that person to listen to the human and divine messengers God sends to them to share His good news. Do you pray for your friends in their daily struggles? Know that every prayer you pray imparts to them more and more grace and power and opportunities from the Lord. Do you have difficulties with someone at school or at work or around your community or home? Know that every prayer you pray brings God’s power to bear on those difficult people and situations.

Prayer is not a passive act on our part. Prayer is an aggressive, active ministry! The Bible tells us that in Christ we are reigning with Him in the heavenly places. Now, it’s only a foretaste of the authority He has promised us we’ll enjoy after He returns, but when we pray we are moving the very forces of Heaven itself! The powers of greed and lust and pride at work around us are strong. To come against them takes more than quickie, half-hearted prayers. We must know God’s will, and persevere in asking for His will to be done, and be determined to see it through until we see His changes in response.

Maybe you’ve heard the acronym, P.U.S.H.? P-ray U-ntil S-omething H-appens? That’s how Jesus prayed! Mark tells us:  When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged Him to touch the man and heal him. Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, He laid His hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?”

The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.”

Then Jesus placed His hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. (8:22-25) He kept on praying until something happened.

George Mueller was a Christian evangelist and the Director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England during the late 1800’s. Once, while crossing the Atlantic on the “SS Sardinian”, Mueller’s ship ran into thick fog. He explained to the captain that he needed to be in Quebec by the following afternoon, but Captain said that he was slowing the ship down for safety and Mueller’s appointment would have to be missed. Mueller asked to use the chartroom to pray for the lifting of the fog. The captain followed him down, claiming it would be a waste of time. After Mueller prayed, the captain started to pray, but Mueller stopped him; partly because of the captain’s unbelief, but mainly because he believed the prayer had already been answered. When the two men went back to the bridge, they found the fog had lifted. Mueller kept his appointment in Quebec; and the captain became a Christian shortly afterwards.

Genesis 12:1-9 [NLTse]

¹ The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. ² I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. ³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on Earth will be blessed through you.”

 ⁴ So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. ⁵ He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, ⁶ Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.

 ⁷ Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the LORD, Who had appeared to him. ⁸ After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the LORD, and he worshiped the LORD. ⁹ Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev.

God invited Abraham to join Him on an adventure! The Lord didn’t tell Abraham where he would be going; only that he would need to leave his home, never to return; leave his friends, neighbors, and relatives, never to see them again; and go, where? The Lord never said. He never gave Abraham any region or directions for forwarding mail or carepackages. He simply said, “I’m taking you to a land that I will show you.”

God told Abraham, “Leave everything you’ve ever known behind, follow Me, and I’ll let you know when we get there.”

I know it’s a difficult question to ask (because how can anyone really know), but, if the Lord called you on an adventure, do you think you would go with Him? … For those of you who honestly said, “No”: Would you like to have the kind of faith to perhaps go with Him on an adventure one of these days?

I ask because I believe the Lord is calling all of us to join Him on an adventure. This-coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. It is the beginning of the church-season of Lent. Lent is made up of the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. (Although the Sundays aren’t included in the count.) During Lent the weather gets warmer and daylight-hours lengthen, which is Lent gets its name, from “lengthening”.)

For the past fifteen centuries or more various Christians have celebrated Lent with some sort of fasting or self-sacrifice. Fasting is the practice of abstaining from food for a period of time – only drinking water. But other self-denial observances have also been practiced during Lent: Not eating chocolate is kind of a funny one (as though denying yourself chocolate were some great sacrifice); not watching TV is another (again, hardly a sacrifice, but a difficult practice to break for many modern people); some have abstained from eating meat; others have given up drinking coffee or soda; others have given up smoking or drinking alcohol or some other excessive behaviors. (Again, hardly a sacrifice, since such excesses aren’t good for us to begin with, but, again, they can be very difficult habits to break when they’ve become extreme.)

As I said, I believe the Lord is calling us to join Him on an adventure today. I believe our Lord Jesus Christ is calling us to fast from our entertainments, our hobbies, and all our leisure-activities throughout the 40 days of Lent. Yes, I believe our Lord Jesus Christ is calling us to fast from our entertainments, our hobbies, and all our leisure-activities throughout the 40 days of Lent.

Now you may be asking, “Why would we want to do that? What’s wrong with watching TV or reading to relax at the end of the day? What’s wrong with hanging out and chilling to music or reading a magazine or surfing around the internet or hanging out on Facebook? And didn’t God gift me to be able to do and enjoy my hobbies?”

Of course there’s nothing categorically wrong with any of these pursuits. And yet the truth is that, for many of us, they occupy way too much of our time. Our technological advances here in the West have given us more comfort and free time than any other generation that’s ever lived on the face of the Earth. And many have filled that free time with entertainments and amusements and distractions. Have you ever wondered whether we’re maybe entertaining and distracting ourselves to death?

Again, I believe our Lord Jesus Christ is calling us to fast from our entertainments, our hobbies, and our leisure-activities throughout these 40 upcoming-days of Lent.

Let me paint you a picture: I’m home and I don’t have any commitments. I’m feeling a little itchy to do something, so I ask myself, “What can I do?” And with that question comes all manner of enjoyable, time-filling pursuits. Not all of them are necessarily sinful, and yet not all of them necessarily glorify God (in and of themselves), either.

Now, I’m not talking about doing chores or work that needs doing around the house (although we can be excessive about those kinds of activities, as well). And I’m not talking about activities that strengthen our marriages or families or other relationships, like playing games together or working on various crafts or projects together (although those pursuits can, in reality, not be about building relationships but just being entertained together).

Here’s another picture I have with the 40 days of Lent in mind: I’m home and I don’t have any commitments. I’m feeling a little itchy to do something, so I ask God, “What can I do for You?” And the answers we might get when asking that questions are what I believe the Lord is calling us to throughout these 40 days of Lent! Because it’s one thing to pursue our hobbies for our own enjoyment and entertainment, it is something else entirely to pursue those same hobbies in ways that glorify God and bless others. Can you make crafts that point to Christ and the good news of our faith and give them to others? Can you hunt and give the portions you don’t need to others as a gift to them from Jesus? Can you search the internet for Bible Studies and make plans to start one in your home?

Of course, there are pursuits we’re going to have to give up for these 40 days. For instance, I like to read, especially Christian or fantasy-adventure fiction. I like good writing and good stories. It’s a way I “unplug” and also connect with my kids since they’re usually reading the same books I am.

But this past-time is going to have to go during this-coming Lent, because I believe our Lord Jesus Christ is calling us to fast from our entertainments, our hobbies, and our leisure-activities throughout the 40 days of Lent. Perhaps I’ll replace some of that reading by reading books that would benefit church-life here, or with some reading about spiritual disciplines or other areas of discipleship for myself and/or my family. But I also think the Lord might call me to read the Bible more, enjoy Him and talk with Him in prayer more, spend more time reaching out to family members and folks I’ve fallen out of touch with and others around our church or community through email or personal notes. Having to spend more time romancing my wife and nurturing my relationships with my children (and I say “having to” because I won’t be distracted by my habitual entertainments and I’ll be looking for something to do!) I’m sure the Lord will also lead me to get some projects done around our house that have dragged on. (I can also imagine that might double as a way to romance my wife, since she can get quietly frustrated when I let such things go! J)

How about you?

I’m not trying to say there’s some great biblical reason that we must do this together (other than because I believe God is calling us to do so). And I’m not trying to guilt you into it as though you would be acting unfaithfully to God if you do not. No. But I do believe that, like Abraham, the Lord is inviting us to take a journey with Him: For us to retreat together from our entertainments, hobbies, and leisure-pursuits across these next 40 days. To see what our lives could be like if we intentionally filled our time with activities we know God wants for us, but that we don’t seem to have time for, and with activities that boldly serve others and share Christ with those around us.

Our Father promised Abraham great blessings if he would go. I believe the Lord has great blessings in store for us, and for others through us, as we go.

We’ll be taking some time during Worship each week across Lent to share how and where He’s been leading us. Will you join me?

 

According to Luke 23:26-42 [NLTse]

²⁶ As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷ A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women. ²⁸ But Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For the days are coming when they will say, ‘Fortunate indeed are the women who are childless, the wombs that have not borne a child and the breasts that have never nursed.’ ³⁰ People will beg the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and plead with the hills, ‘Bury us.’ ³¹ For if these things are done when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

³² Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with Him. ³³ When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed Him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on His right and one on His left.

³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for His clothes by throwing dice.

Two weeks ago we were talking about forgiveness, and I was telling you about the careless friend who came for a visit and broke one of the lamps in our home. At that time we talked about how there are two kinds of careless friends: Those who apologize and tell us they’re sorry and perhaps even offer to replace what they’ve broken; and, those who aren’t sorry, and who tell us it wasn’t their fault and that we should’ve placed the lamp some place safer… But either way, because I love God and follow Christ, I have to forgive them, and I will forgive them.

uuuWhether they’re sorry or not, perhaps I’ll say, “It’s alright,” or “of course, I forgive you,” or “don’t worry about it,” or perhaps, even, “yes, maybe we shouldn’t have placed it there.” But either way, I’ll forgive them. And that will be the end of the matter. For them. But I’m still left with a broken lamp! Who will go shop for another? Who will purchase a replacement? I will. I have forgiven them, and so I will pay the penalty they owe for their carelessness.

When someone has wronged you (sometimes we’ll say they’ve “sinned against us”) it means they owe you, they are indebted to you. Forgiveness is Christ’s command for us to absorb the cost of the debt ourselves. We pay the price, refusing to exact payment from the person who wronged us in any way.

As we come together around the topic of forgiveness again, it’s critical for us to know we are not to keep track of every single time we have been treated unjustly or insensitively. uuu1 Peter 4:8 says, “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.” “Love covers a multitude of sins” because, uuu“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5)

Jesus said our greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. So we are to let many of the offenses against us go, striving to not even think twice about them, simply because of the love we are seeking God’s grace to show those around us. And yet, there are some wrongs and offenses that do need to be acted on and confronted.

Which brings us back to those who offend us who are sorrowful and repentant, and those who offend us who are unrepentant and don’t seem to care…

Forgiving a repentant person is easy. uuuThough forgiving the other means we are not to exact payment from the person who’s wronged us, if you think about it, somebody who’s repentant has already made the payment – or at least a portion of it – just by being sorry and acknowledging they’ve hurt us. Repentant people take much of the work of forgiveness away from us, because there may be very little “payment” left for us to make, or because of their sorrow and concern, we may find the part that’s left to us a joy.

However, we must also forgive unrepentant persons – those who don’t apologize and don’t seem sorry. Because of the resentment and bitterness unforgiveness spreads (we talked about that last time) we must forgive. But how do we actually forgive those who don’t seem to care they’ve hurt us at all?

uuuFirst, we need to realize that forgiveness is granted often long before it is actually felt. Just like love, forgiveness can be a feeling we have or do not have. But forgiveness is primarily a set of actions and disciplines. It’s a promise God commands us to make and to keep in spite of our feelings. So the first step to forgiveness is to promise God we’ll forgive, and then to act on that promise whether we feel like it or not.

uuuSecond, you cannot forgive someone unless you are honest with yourself about what has actually been done against you, what they have truly taken from you. So, step two is to assess the cost and let the facts of the matter stand as history.

uuuThird, it’s critical for us to separate the evil-doer from the evil they have done, and then, recognizing our offender as one for whom Christ died, seek to work for his or her redemption.

When on the cross the Lord Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing,” (Luke 23:34) the Lord acknowledged the peoples’ sin, but He also recognized their need and their weakness (in that they weren’t aware of their sin), and so the Lord Jesus prayed for them.

Seeing “evil” as something distinct from the one committing the evil act helps us recognize that our true enemy is not this or that flesh and blood person, but the evil rulers, authorities, and mighty powers of darkness, and evil spirits in the heavenly places that are using him or her to hurt us. (See Ephesians 6:12) And then, through our acts of forgiveness, the one who offended us may even become softened and helped by our forgiveness and love. It’s an act of the will: We determine to wish them God’s good, and desire His growth and healing for their lives.

uuuOf course, at the heart of forgiveness is our determination to go and shop and pay the price for the broken lamp ourselves. There are many different ways we can make our offender pay, but each and every time we do not, we are absorbing the cost and making the “payments” ourselves.

• We can make nasty little remarks when talking with them, and bring up their debt and drag out the past in little ways; but when we do not, we are forgiving them.
• We can demand more from them than we do from others, because “they owe us”; but when we do not, we are forgiving them.
• We can make a public spectacle of the “mercy” we’ve shown them to make them feel ashamed and small; but when we do not, we are forgiving them.
• We can avoid them, and be cold to them in bold or subtle ways; and, of course,
• We can actively plan and scheme to hurt or harm them, getting them back and taking from them something valuable to them. But each and every we do not, we are acting with forgiveness towards them.

Of course, there are ways to make them “pay” even when we’re not dealing with those who’ve hurt us themselves, but when we’re interacting with others.

• We can try to “warn” others about them, or even ask for prayer, but sometimes we don’t do these things genuinely but use them as an excuse to make them look bad, hurt them, or share our hurt. (And each time we don’t we are forgiving them.)

And, of course, we keep the whole cycle of resentment and bitterness going strong every time we

• Replay in our memories what they did to us, justifying our anger and feeding our hostility towards them; and every time we
• Secretly hope for their failure, or their fall, or their pain. And every time we do not do these things we are tempted to do we are forgiving them in word and deed. (And perhaps our Father will grant us the gift of feeling forgiveness towards them over time, as well.)

Forgiveness is our promise to God to never bring the matter up again

• to the person who hurt us,
• to others around us,
• or even to ourselves.

And every time when we are tempted to make them pay but we refuse – even though we may still hurt –we are making the payment ourselves.

Someone once wrote: “Pain is the consequence of sin; there is no easy way to deal with it. uuuWood, nails, and pain are the currency of forgiveness, the love that heals.” (Dan Hamilton, Forgiveness)

uuu To the Hebrews 12:14-29 [NLTse]

¹⁴ Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. ¹⁵ Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. ¹⁶ Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. ¹⁷ You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s uuublessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.

¹⁸ You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. ¹⁹ For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. ²⁰ They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” ²¹ Moses uuuhimself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.”

²² No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. ²³ You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in Heaven. You have come to God Himself, Who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in Heaven who have now been made perfect. ²⁴ uuuYou have come to Jesus, the One Who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.

²⁵ Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One Who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One Who speaks to us from Heaven! ²⁶ When God spoke uuufrom Mount Sinai His voice shook the Earth, but now He makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the Earth but the heavens also.” ²⁷ This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.

²⁸ Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping Him with holy fear and awe. ²⁹ For our God is a devouring fire.

If a careless friend breaks a lamp in my home, I will forgive him. Maybe he will apologize and tell me he’s sorry and offer to replace it, or maybe he’ll tell me it wasn’t his fault and that we shouldn’t have placed the lamp where we did. But either way, I’ll forgive him: I will tell him I forgive him, or perhaps just say, “It’s alright,” and that will be the end of the matter. For him. Because although we have dealt with the penalty – that is, I’ve freed him from any penalty – the damage remains, the lamp is still broken. Who will go shop for another? Who will purchase a replacement? I will. I have forgiven him, and so I will pay the penalty for his carelessness.

When someone has wronged you (sometimes we’ll say they’ve “sinned against you”) it means they owe you, they are indebted to you. uuuForgiveness is to absorb the cost of the debt. You pay the price yourself and you refuse to take the price out of the person who wronged you in any way.

The Sunday before Thanksgiving I talked with you about forgiveness: Because the Lord has forgiven us our sins, how He calls us and enables us to put behind us and let go of all the wrongs done us by others, if we will. Several of you asked if I would talk about forgiveness some more.

In our reading from Hebrews today, uuuthe Holy Spirit tells us, “Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” (12:15) According to the Mayo Clinic, bitterness is holding on to anger, resentment, and thoughts of revenge after someone you care about hurts you. And the American Psychiatric Association is debating whether or not to include bitterness in its upcoming edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Bitterness is produced by our refusal to forgive. It is not always seen, but as Hebrews describes, uuubitterness it is often hidden, “underground” like a root. And it is dangerous, producing poisonous fruit.

Bitterness produces poisonous fruit in the unforgiver because it keeps him or her trapped in their pain, and chained to the one who caused it. This may sound dramatic, but we’ve all lived it: I remember this guy I used to work with when I was in the building business. He ran the warehouse where we stored our windows and doors and trim material. A nice-enough guy, but he was cocky and full of himself, and because I was also so cocky and full of myself at that time, we used to butt heads all the time. On my way home from work I would replay conversations he and I had had that day, planning what I was going to say the next time so I could really put him in his place. Every time I’d see him I’d stiffen and put a tough-guy look on my face, and then go out of my way not to look at him at all. My memos to him were always curt and short so he’d know how little I thought of him. I remember he was playing shortstop for the other team during a company softball game, and I worked so hard to drill one right at him and take off his head! And I did! uuuBut he caught it…

Our bitterness allows the pain and the person who inflicted it to twist and distort our attitudes and behavior forever, until we forgive. All the strange and different things we say and ways we behave that we ordinarily would not show how much power our unforgiveness gives them over us.

uuuOf course, bitterness poisons the relationships of the unforgiver, too. Hebrews says, bitterness “corrupts many”: As we tell those around us how wronged we’ve been, and try to tear down the person who’s so hurtfully torn us… And it poisons our relationship uuuwith God.

This bitter root of unforgiveness in us poisons all of our fruit, it affects every aspect of our lives. If we have a good, tasty root, the fruit of our lives – our relationships, our ministry, our work, our demeanor – will reflect that goodness and “tastiness”. If we have a bitter, poisonous root, we’ll see that in broken or dysfunctional relationships, too. And we’ll see it in unfruitful ministry, and conflicts at work, and the angry lines on our faces will be more prominent than the happy and content lines.

It’s not difficult to know what kind of root we have inside ourselves. Each of us probably knows the truth of that right here and now. But if you’re not sure you can ask your wife or husband, or you can ask your children or parents, or ask your co-workers or those friends whom you know you can trust to give you an honest answer…

And if you find that you’ve got a bitter root, then what? And if you realize that it’s not just that you have bitterness towards this person or that person, but that you are a bitter person, in general, then what? What can you do about that? How do you change something that is so fundamental to you? (I mean, that’s what a root is, after all, right? Our very foundation!)

When Moses was leading the Israelites through desert-places on the way to Mt. Sinai to meet with the Lord they came upon an oasis where there was water. Now this wasn’t just any oasis, for Moses was travelling with more than 600,000 people. It was huge! But when they went to drink and water their herds, even in their thirst the water was too bitter to drink. And those thousands of Israelites thought they were going to die, and watch their herds and children die. And maybe you’re aware of this bitter root in you, and you think this is the way you are, maybe the way you’ve always been! And that’s the way you’re going to die: A bitter, resentful, angry old man; a bitter, resentful, angry old woman.

Except that God showed Moses a stick (though it may have been a branch or a log or even a trunk or the entire tree) and when Moses threw that wood into the bitter waters, the bitter waters became sweet. And I tell you today that the Lord has wood to throw on your bitterness, to make your bitter root sweet. And I’m talking about the blood-stained cross of Jesus Christ.

You don’t have to work to get to the cross. You don’t have to be good enough or prove yourself worthy. You just have to let Him, to ask Him and let Him throw the cross where Jesus died – where sin died – into the bitter root of your life.

Maybe you’re thinking that you’re too bitter, that the wrongs done to you and the grudges you hold are too old, too big, too strong. But I tell you that when Moses through the wood into those bitter waters that more than 600,000 Israelites drank their fill of the waters-made-sweet, and their flocks and herds drank their fill of the waters-made-sweet. Your root is not too deep. The cross has not lost its power.

If you would give your bitterness to Jesus Christ today, would you stand where you are, please? If you would surrender your unforgiveness and resentment, to let the cross of Christ fall upon it, would you stand, please? Please do not be self-conscious. Please do not miss this opportunity God is giving us to publicly come to Him: What we do in the public places, He does in the secret places. (See Matthew 10:32-33.)

Mark 1:4-6 [NLTse]
4 …John the Baptist… was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. 5 All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. 6 His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.

Won’t you try to picture the scene with me? We’re at a river. Let’s think of something similar to the Delaware River, the way it is right here at Milford Beach, perhaps. There’s an immense crowd gathered, packing the shoreline, some even wading in the shallow water, but because of the slope of the land down to the water even those in the back have a pretty good view of the fellow in the river before them. The air is filled with water sounds (the current’s moving along pretty well), as occasionally someone slips in along the edge as the crowd pushes forward, and because some kids are playing and splashing a bit downstream.
Before you up to his waist in the water is the famous John the Baptist! (John had an immense following; the excitement among the crowd would be like attending your favorite group in-concert or a Billy Graham crusade. John’s all scraggly and unkept-looking: Wild hair; crazy beard; wearing just a rude, camel-hair tunic…

Mark 1:7-8 [NLTse]
7 John announced: “Someone is coming soon Who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of His sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”

So, John’s preaching to the crowds, and they are yelling questions and John is yelling answers back. (You know the way sound carries over water.) And people are walking into the water: Soldiers, business leaders, rabbis, beggars, housewives, government officials; taking off their sandals (if they are wealthy enough to have sandals) and leaving their armor and outer garments on the shore and all coming into the water, just in their shifts, and immersing themselves as John prophesies and quotes Scripture over them.

Mark 1:9-11 [NLTse]
9 One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized Him in the Jordan River. 10 As Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the Heavens burst apart and the Holy Spirit descending on Him like a dove. 11 And a voice from Heaven said, “You are My dearly loved Son, and You bring Me great joy.”

This particular day a Fellow approaches, not so different from the rest (a hired-hand, maybe), and He and John have some words as though John doesn’t want Him to be baptized. (You can’t hear what they’re saying all that well.) John seems to give in and you see the Man go under.
And then all Heaven breaks loose!
The clouds in the sky above you rip apart as though some heavenly being has torn the sky in two! And like a ray of sunshine when it breaks through the clouds, from the tear this bird-like thing – you hear some saying it’s a dove – flies down like it means to land on the Fellow Who’s just come up out of the water. And though the skies had been sunny and pleasant, now ripped in two there comes a quaking of thunder, and yet in the thunder you’re sure you hear, “You are My dearly loved Son, and You bring Me great joy.” And then the dove-thing lands on the Man and it disappears!
…
Picturing Jesus’ baptism, does it make you think of yours?
It should.
I’m not talking about whether you were baptized in a river or dunked in a tank or sprinkled at a font. Jesus’ baptism portrays what has happened to each and every one of us – according to our faith in Him – whether you were indoors or out, surrounded by those closest to you or by complete strangers.
When you were baptized Heaven was torn open and God the Father claimed you as His son; Heaven was torn open and God claimed you as His daughter!
When you were baptized God the Holy Spirit settled upon you and filled you: To guide you and empower you; to make you new and live within you all your days. And He said to you: “You bring Me great joy!”
(Now, I’m not trying to say that every person who’s ever been baptized was made to be God’s kid in its waters, or filled with the Holy Spirit. Because I’m not talking to everyone or just anyone today. I’m talking to you. And I’m saying that you – if you have trusted in Jesus Christ to forgive you and save you from sin and to lead and rule your life – that you, when you were baptized, God claimed you. God filled you. You bring Him great joy!)
When someone accepts Jesus Christ, Jesus comes into their life in the form of the Holy Spirit, so he or she is born anew! Through the Holy Spirit you become a new creation. And through the Holy Spirit you are anointed and empowered for ministry: To live Jesus’ life in the world today.
…
But maybe you don’t buy it. Maybe you think that just because something happened to Jesus that it didn’t necessarily have to have happened to you. Fair enough. Except that Jesus doesn’t see it that way.
When the apostle Paul, before He became a Christian, was on his way from Jerusalem to the city of Damascus to imprison the Jews who’d become Christians there, Paul met the risen Lord Jesus on the road. Acts 9 tells us: “As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from Heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting Me?’”
“Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked.
And the Voice replied, “I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting!”
Now, Paul (he went by Saul before He put his trust in Christ) Paul wasn’t persecuting Jesus. Jesus had been killed, raised from the dead, and ascended to the Father years before Paul began persecuting Christians.
He writes to the Colossians: “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of Heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of Heaven, not the things of Earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.” (3:1-3) Jesus is in us and we’re in Him. Our life is with Jesus where He is, and Jesus’ life in with us where we are.
Like the prophet Isaiah, so many people cry out, “Oh, that You would burst from the Heavens and come down!” (64:1) But know that the Lord has burst from Heaven and come down upon You!
…
Have you expected Him to be so intimate with you? Have you been baptized all these years but you’re still bullying others or letting your anger get the best of you or seeking to control people and situations around you or looking for love in all the wrong places or chasing after the world’s priorities or … whatever it is you’re doing, doing it as though you were on your own in the world?
You give our Father much joy, my brothers and sisters! And I don’t call you “brothers” and “sisters” because it’s cutesy, or to be endearing. We are brothers and sisters because we have been adopted – together – into God’s family: We are His sons; you are His daughters! We’re not like a family. We are family in Christ!
Jesus has become so misunderstood out there in the world, and it’s often because we’ve so misunderstood Him first. Our Savior has not come to humanity making demands, “Thou shalt do this! Thou shalt not do that!” No, Jesus comes first offering a gift: “Here, let Me save you.” He has something for us:“Here, come be a part of God’s things with Me.”
It’s only after we’ve accepted and received, only then does He call us to live up to the family name. Because our Father doesn’t call us not to steal, or to be pure until marriage, or to not lie or gossip or covet what others’ have so that He might love us. No. Our Father has already publicly claimed us as His sons, He has already publicly claimed us as His daughters, in our baptisms. And He has already given us the Holy Spirit so we would know it’s all true, so that we would know we’re His kids! So, you and me, we don’t steal, we’re not sexual outside of marriage, we don’t look or listen to impure things, we don’t lie or gossip, we don’t do these things – not because we’re trying to earn God’s love – but because that’s just not what our family – not what God’s family – does!
His Spirit is sufficient to help us stand against peer pressure, fear of failure, … We can do all things through Christ, whatever might come against us! And not so that He’ll love us, but because He already does love us. And He’s shown us that love in Christ.
My brothers and sisters: Living for Christ in this world that loves darkness can be filled with much hardship and many trials. Live for Him anyway. You give our Father much joy!

Isaiah 8:1-10 [NLTse]

 1 Then the Lord said to me, “Make a large signboard and clearly write this name on it: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.” 2 I asked Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah, both known as honest men, to witness my doing this.

3 Then I slept with my wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said, “Call him Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 4 For before this child is old enough to say ‘Papa’ or ‘Mama,’ the king of Assyria will carry away both the abundance of Damascus and the riches of Samaria.”

5 Then the Lord spoke to me again and said, 6 “My care for the people of Judah is like the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, but they have rejected it. They are rejoicing over what will happen to King Rezin and King Pekah. 7 Therefore, the Lord will overwhelm them with a mighty flood from the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria and all his glory. This flood will overflow all its channels 8 and sweep into Judah until it is chin deep. It will spread its wings, submerging your land from one end to the other, O Immanuel.

 9 “Huddle together, you nations, and be terrified. Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, but you will be crushed! Yes, prepare for battle, but you will be crushed! 10 Call your councils of war, but they will be worthless. Develop your strategies, but they will not succeed. For God is with us!”

Message

u King Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king over the nation of Judah, and he ruled for sixteen years. He was the father of Hezekiah. Ahaz was unfaithful to the Lord, following instead the gods of Israel, even sacrificing several of his sons as burnt offerings.

During Ahaz’ reign, the northern nations of Aram and Israel formed an alliance to attack Judah. Ahaz, his nobles, and all of Judah were panic-stricken. So the Lord sent the prophet Isaiah to speak His Word to King Ahaz: (This is from Chapter 7, immediately before our reading) “This invasion will never happen; it will never take place; ⁸ for Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus, and Damascus is no stronger than its king, Rezin. As for Israel, within sixty-five years it will be crushed and completely destroyed. ⁹ Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria, and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah. Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.”

History tells us that Ahaz did not believe God’s Word, and so Aram and Israel had great victories over Judah, taking land, cities, captives, all their valuables, and eventually besieging Jerusalem. In addition to Aram and Israel, on account of Judah’s weakness, Edom and Philistia attacked and plundered regions near to them, as well. (History speaks of it all as the Syro-Ephraimite War.)

And yet Ahaz remained unrepentant. And instead of seeking help from the Lord Ahaz took gold and silver from the Temple and from the Royal Treasury and sent it with emissaries to the king of Assyria, in the hopes of purchasing his aid.

And in our reading today the Lord speaks of these things through the prophet Isaiah: “My care for the people of Judah is like the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, but they have rejected it.” What does that mean? Well, the Gihon Spring is an intermittent spring, one of the world’s major intermittent springs, which means that it doesn’t produce a steady flow, but intermittently gushes water out. And in the case of the Gihon (which means gushing) enough water to satisfy the area’s inhabitants, as well as to irrigate the surrounding lands.

Because water only pours out irregularly, in ancient times a channel was dug directing the water to a catch basin that was calledthe Pool of Shiloah, (in the New Testament, the Pool of Siloam). And the Lord likens His reign over Judah to the gently flowing, intermittent, rippling waters of the Pool.

Quite a contrast to the “mighty floodwaters” of Assyria. The Tigris River was – is – a mighty watercourse, strong and overflowing: A river which could carry ships for trade, travel, and commerce; a river, because of the way they had moated it about their city, provided excellent protection, as well. Ahaz and Judah saw Aram and Assyria as nations going in the right direction: Nations with real leaders, gods winning wars and men and women of influence and prestige. “We ought to be like them,” Ahaz and his nobles were saying.

And in comparison what was Shiloah, that little brook, that intermittent spring filling up that little pool that God had provided. They held the Shiloah in contempt. They held the Lord in contempt. But what they hoped would save them all but overwhelmed them! Because, yes, the Assyrians overran Aram and Israel, but they kept on coming to eventually lay siege to their own capitol, Jerusalem, itself!

And it is likewise with us, the very things so many boast as being able to save them are in reality the very forces that end up drowning them in sorrow and despair. The rich person’s wealth when they look to their wealth for deliverance; the drunkard’s bottle when looking to the bottle for comfort; the self-confident strong-willed person when looking to their strong-will for the strength they are needing – all of it simply dragging them down. Salvation is to be found in the waters of Shiloah which flow softly, graciously, mercifully. Only in the way of grace, through Jesus Christ. That is the only way of salvation. There is none other.

If Christ does not rule us, a mob of tyrants will: Our own passions; our own evil habits; the fascinating sins around us. They soon cease to be the helpers they once seemed, and become oppressing tyrants.

Today is New Year’s Day, a day famous for making resolutions about how we’re going to live our lives differently in the year ahead. And so I ask you, “Who are you today? Whose are you today? Who and what are you living for today?”

Now don’t answer too quickly. We can all lose our way over time. We can find that concern for our retirement has taken the place of our zeal for Christ. We can find that our hobbies have eaten up precious time that could be spent on loving actions to draw people into Christ’s Kingdom.

Here on the first day of the 2012^th Year of Jesus’ Reign, are you satisfied with the kind of husband or wife you’ve become? Or with your soul set on Christ, do you know how far you still have to grow?  Are you a parent the way God parents us? Is Christ and being like Him in every way your goal? Or are you content with at least not being as bad as your neighbor? Are you honest at work? Dependable? Giving what you do all you have to give, as though you were working for the Lord God Himself?

Even our faith can suffer from wrong focus: We can be at ease with our salvation now that we’ve believed in Christ: Comfortable because we go to church and attend our studies and serve on our committees. But we can also so these things without “coasting” on them, so aware of how much more the Lord has for us than we’ve received from Him so far: More for our relationships; more for our words and actions; so much more.

Some examples: Are we set on wearing what we like, or do we think the Lord might have us dress a bit differently in 2012? Is our study and prayer life all it could be, or do we think the Lord would have us revitalize our time with Him? Is our Christianity good enough, or are we set here at the start of 2012 to keep following hard after Christ?

The Lord is a gently flowing stream: Sometimes quiet, other times gushing! And we can be wowed by the constantly rushing Rezin’s, and place too much hope in the eye-catching Assyria’s around us. And yet by the power of the Holy Spirit the cross of Christ demonstrates our Father’s absolute authority over even the wrong choices that would overwhelm us!

Will you – with me, today – reject and repent of imitating anyone or anything but Christ? Will you – with me, today – reject and repent from hoping in anyone or anything but Christ to save?

John 14:1-9 [NLTse]

¹ “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me. ² There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? ³ When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am. ⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.” u

⁵ “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where You are going, so how can we know the way?”

⁶ Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me. ⁷ If you had really known Me, you would know Who My Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him!”

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied. u

⁹ Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know Who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father!

The typical story we hear repeated is:

“It’s about 2000 years ago, the evening of December 25th. Mary rides into Bethlehem on a donkey, urgently needing to deliver her baby. Although it’s an emergency, all the innkeepers turn them away. So they deliver baby Jesus in a stable. Then angels sing to the shepherds. Afterwards, they all join three kings with camels in worshipping the quiet, newborn.”

The problem is, this story may be almost entirely wrong. The events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ have been retold so many times and in so many ways—in plays, poetry, books and movies—that most people have a distorted view of the true events, at least as the Bible portrays them.

Q1) u Did Mary ride a donkey to Bethlehem? Perhaps, but there are various other possibilities. The Bible doesn’t say how she got to Bethlehem. It only says that she came with Joseph.

Q2) Did Mary arrive in Bethlehem the night she gave birth? The Bible doesn’t suggest this. They could have arrived weeks earlier. God’s Word simply states, “while they were there [that is, while they were there in Bethlehem], the days were accomplished that she should be delivered” (Luke 2:6). If the census had been announced so that she could arrive in Joseph’s ancestral home well before her due date that would make more sense.

Q3) Did Joseph or Mary talk to any innkeepers? Perhaps, but there is no solid, biblical reason to believe that they did. Although innkeepers play a prominent part in many Christmas plays, no innkeeper is actually mentioned in the biblical record of Christ’s birth. Furthermore, it is just as likely, instead of an inn, that Mary and Joseph actually stayed in a house with relatives.

Q4) u Was Jesus born in a stable? Or a barn? Or a cave? The Bible does not mention any of these three places in connection with Christ’s birth, only that in place of an actual baby’s bed He was laid in a feeding trough, a manger. The Bible says they laid Jesus in a feeding trough because there was no room for Him in the kataluma.

I use the Greek word kataluma because it refer to an “inn”, but it can also indicate a “guest room” or “lodging place”. The only other time the word is used in the New Testament, it refers to what has come to be called the “upper room” where Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Last Supper (Mark 14:14-15). So the Lord could have been born in the stable of an inn, but He could have also been born in the house of one of Joseph’s relatives living in Bethlehem. And yet because the guest room may have been already occupied by others who were visiting for the census, Jesus and Mary and Joseph had to stay in the rooms under the house where the animals were kept: And they laid Jesus in the manger.

Q5) “Away in a manger the baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes.” Although this is part of a beautiful song, we cannot be sure that Jesus did not cry. The Bible does not report that He was exceptional in this way.

Q6) u Did angels sing to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem? Perhaps, but the Bible doesn’t specifically say that the angels sang. It says that first an angel appeared and spoke, and then “a multitude of the heavenly host [God’s heavenly army, appeared] praising God” (Luke 2:13).

Q7) Were angels present at Jesus’ birth? It seems logical to assume that they were, however, Scripture does not report it. And there is no evidence that any angels were visible to Mary and Joseph at this time.

Q8) u Did three kings riding camels come to honor Jesus’ birth? Believe it or not, the Bible does not say that any kings or camels visited young Jesus.

Matthew tells us that wise men – literally “magi” (carrying the idea of court magicians or ancient scientists) came, but it does not say how many. None of the early Church Fathers suggested that any of the magi were kings. And since the word “magi” used in the Bible is plural, there were apparently at least two, and there might have been three—but there could have been even more. Three seems to be represented in stories and art because the Bible mentions three gifts these “magi” presented: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

In addition, these “magi” (or wise men) did not necessarily visit Jesus the night He was born (as is commonly shown on greeting cards and in plays). And they may not have arrived for up to two years afterwards! Matthew refers to Jesus as “child” not a “baby” at the time of their visit, so it is possible that little Jesus was walking and talking by then! Even so, we know it would not have been after He was two, because King Herod met with the wise men before they reached Bethlehem, and when Herod sought to destroy the “newborn king”, to do so he had every boy in Bethlehem two years old or younger put to death “according to what he had learned from the wise men.”

All these inaccuracies and misconceptions about Christ’s birth have led many enemies of Christianity to challenge the accuracy of the gospel in general: “If we can’t get the Christmas story right,” they argue, “what else are we getting so very wrong?” And many believers, unfamiliar with the discrepancies, are caught off-guard and unable to give a faithful rebuttal and response. All to remind us that the plays and movies can be stirring and helpful in understanding the historical realities of these events, but we always need to test everything we hear against God’s Word, no matter what the source. The Bible is the final authority.

All this being said, the actual facts of Jesus’ birth – as recorded so simply in the Scriptures – are so much more wonderful than anything we might want to edit or add. u He was indeed born of a virgin in the city of Bethlehem exactly as prophesied many years before. u Jesus was conceived in Mary, not by a man, but by the Holy Spirit of God. u The Lord Jesus existed before the Creation of the world, part of u the Holy Trinity we speak of as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. u He took off His divinity and was born as a human being for a purpose: To show us God the Father; to die as a willing sacrifice in payment for our sins; and to baptize us with the Holy Spirit, providing God’s salvation, now and always, as a free gift to all who will accept it and love Him, and trust Him, and follow Him.

During Advent, of course, we also celebrate the fact that He’s has gone ahead of us into God’s Paradise to prepare a place for us. And He’s promised, when everything is ready, u that He will come back and get us, so that we will always be with Him where He is.

“And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory. And He will send out His angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather His chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the Earth and Heaven… You must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” (24:3-31, 44)

Come, Lord Jesus!

According to John 1:1-18 [NLTse]

¹ In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He existed in the beginning with God. ³ God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. ⁴ The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought Light to everyone. ⁵ The Light shines in the Darkness, and the Darkness can never extinguish it…

¹⁰ He came into the very world He created, but the world didn’t recognize Him. ¹¹ He came to His Own people, and even they rejected Him. ¹² But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. ¹³ They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

¹⁴ So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son…

¹⁶ From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. ¹⁷ For the Law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, Who is Himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

Does everyone here know the story of Pinocchio? A toymaker named Geppetto carves a magic piece of wood into a puppet, and the puppet comes to life. Geppetto has always longed for a son and so makes all manner of sacrifices for the Pinocchio, but the animated puppet is attracted to all the wrong kinds of people, ignoring the cricket a fairy has given him to serve as his conscience. Even though the fairy tells Pinocchio that she desires to turn him into a real, human boy, Pinocchio keeps following bad advice and making bad choices that get him into more and more trouble and keep him away from his dream of becoming a real boy.

Finally Pinocchio, having done so many stupid and sad things that he’s made a donkey of himself (literally), he dies helping rescue Geppetto. But that’s when the fairy arrives, and brings him back to life, a real, human boy.

Through a series of strange events I got thinking how much like Pinocchio human beings are. The Bible shows us that human beings were first made to be so alive! and able, and intimate with God, and having an abundance of every good thing. But our first ancestor’s sinned and fell from such grace. Since then we’ve all been born kind of wooden, our lives filled with so much that seems alive, and yet many all too aware there is something missing.

The Lord sends His angels, speaking to us, guiding us, drawing us to Himself, like Pinocchio was given Jiminy Cricket to be his conscience. But our sinful nature is more drawn to listen to our own Stromboli’s (who flatter us, but only want to use us for their own ends) to friends like Lampwick (who don’t know any better than we do) and to Coachmen (who say they’ll give us every good thing but really just lead us into slavery). God says He will give us real life, but we want to do our own thing and go our own way and end up making donkeys out of ourselves…

With Pinocchio in mind, however, I get thinking: But how is a creature who’s born a wooden puppet to know what it means to be a real boy? I mean, as we’ve just talked about recently, in the Scriptures we read that – if we’ve given our lives to Christ – then we are “saints”, made holy by God on account of our faith.

[Pointing to myself] As one guy who used to be a wooden puppet [pointing out] to others: How can a block of wood (while they’re still a block of wood, at least) comprehend what it would be like to be a real boy? It’s like asking how can one who’s always been an orphan (while they are still an orphan) comprehend what it would be like to be part of a family? How can someone who’s never known what it’s like to be a saint comprehend what sainthood-living would be like?

Likewise, the Bible says that if we’re in Christ then we’ve been given “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms”. What does that look like? Can a sinful man or woman comprehend such a thing? Can even someone who’s been given new life in Christ comprehend such truth without being given some kind of special insight from God?

I mean, who here knows holiness enough to live the life of a saint – a holy one – every day? Who here has comprehended the Lord’s provision for us to make the most of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in your life day by day?

The Bible tells us we are sons and daughters of God. It’s not a metaphor, as though God merely loves us with the love a good parent has for their children. No, almighty God has adopted us, bound us to Himself with a legally binding, eternal covenant to be His sons and His daughters.

And yet, who here fully comprehends what it means to live your life each day as a son of God? [Point to a male believer.] You’re a son of God! [Point to a female believer.] You’re a daughter of God! But do we really understand what that means, when it comes to what we do, how we do it, setting our priorities, responding to circumstances, throughout each and every day…

We know who we are – our new names and our new titles in the Kingdom of God, but we don’t fully know what those names or titles mean for us as we live our lives surrounded by others who haven’t (or at least haven’t yet) been given or received such a rebirth.

And here we are, December 4^th: And our preparations and celebrations of Christmas are beginning. And God knows our need – knowing what we are but not what that means – and that’s the gift God has given us that first Christmas. Because we can look at Jesus and know what it looks like to truly trust that “with God all things are possible”. (Matthew 19:26) When confronted with illness or affliction or whatever form of trial or trouble, we can know how we’ve been born again to handle it by looking at how Jesus confronted such things. Across the pages of the Scriptures we can see how the Lord led men and women and boys and girls of faith to live as His sons and daughters through their joys and sorrows and celebrations and hardships.

10 or so years ago when Christians were asking each other “What Would Jesus Do?”, I remember a fellow Christian telling me how ridiculous they thought it all was since when Jesus encountered a sick person He just prayed for and healed them, and since we can’t do that then what’s the use.

But Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” (John 14:12) Do you believe that? I’m not asking if you can comprehend it: Do you believe it? Because those first disciples believed it.

Across the Book of Acts and scattered across the apostles Letters we read of those first Christians forgiving peoples’ sins, just as Jesus says His followers would be authorized to forgive peoples’ sins. And we see those first Christians performing miracles – healing diseases, casting out demons, preaching in languages they’d never learned to speak before, just as Jesus had said, “You will do the same works I have done, and even greater works.”

What about us? It takes faith. “WWJD – What Would Jesus Do?” It takes faith to do what Jesus would do, faith to believe that God will hear and respond to us – His sons and daughters – just as He responded to Jesus Christ His Son; faith to believe that “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms” is indeed ours.

It takes faith because our Father doesn’t promise us the same outcome that Jesus was given, when we do what He did. And it can take some practice, because we may have wrong motives when we act the way Jesus did. We may not always be sure what Jesus would ask for in a given circumstance at first, so it can take time to live close enough to Him to know better. And, of course, there’s times like when Jesus was in His Own hometown that we may find we can’t do much because of everyone’s disbelief around us…

But Romans 8:19 says, “The Creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.” (And that’s talking about sons and daughters of God.) The Creation is waiting eagerly for us to show ourselves to the world: Here we are, sons of God! Daughters of God! How do we reveal ourselves? Well, it’s Christmastime: What would Jesus do? And we reveal ourselves – and we live by faith – when we do likewise.

Of all the gifts God has given us, being reconciled to Him in Christ, and being filled with Him by the Holy Spirit, are the best. What’s the best gift we can give others and the world around us? Keep our eyes on Jesus; living by faith; doing what He did, or what we believe He would do. Let’s bless the world and reveal ourselves.