Hebrews 10:19-25

On January 8, 1956 Peter Fleming (27), Jim Elliot (28), Ed McCully (28), Roger Youderian (31), and Nate Saint (32) were speared to death on a sandbar called “Palm Beach” in the Curaray River of Ecuador while trying to reach the Waodani with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Nate Saint’s sister Rachel and Jim Elliot’s widow, Elisabeth, made contact with the tribe resulting in many of the tribe becoming followers of Jesus; this is a picture of two of the men responsible for the murder of the five missionaries baptizing Nate Saint’s two children in 1965 in the same river that Nate Saint’s body was found.

Why?  Why would anyone march into the jungle to confront those responsible for murdering a beloved husband, a brother, and their friends not with justice but with a Gospel that promises mercy and redemption?  Well, Elisabeth and Rachel did not just march right on into the jungle to face the Waodani with the gospel.  Elisabeth actually stayed in Ecuador to work among the Quechua Indians.  During that time, Elisabeth and Rachel met an Auca (Waodani) woman named Dayuma who had run away from her tribe when her family was killed.  Dayuma became a Christian and was instrumental in the Waodani welcoming Elisabeth, Elisabeth’s three year old daughter, and Rachel into the tribe.  Elisabeth stayed for two years while Rachel lived with the Auca’s for thirty years until her death. 

Elisabeth and Rachel were convinced that the only remedy to the problem of sin, which is the underlining reason why the Waodani resorted to violence, was the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ to change lives.  They understood that the gospel was the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes in Jesus (Rom. 1:16).  Elisabeth and Rachel believed Jesus’ words to be true: “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also.  If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him” (John 12:25-26).  After reflecting on these same verses, Jim Elliot penned his famous quote that propelled him into Ecuador: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” 

Elisabeth and Rachel followed Dayuma into the Jungle to live among the Waodani with the hope of introducing them to Jesus as the prince of peace because they believed the Day of Hebrews 10:25 was really coming.  This “Day” that the writer of Hebrews is talking about is the day of Jesus’ return when he will judge both the living and the dead.  For the Christian, the coming “Day” is good news!  This is why the author of Hebrews wrote one chapter earlier: “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:27–28).

However, the coming “Day” will not be good news for those who have not heard or have not believed that Jesus is the only remedy for our sins.  Jesus said of his own coming: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31–32).  To the sheep (the Christian), Jesus will say: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (v. 34).  To the goats (everyone else), Jesus will say: “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (v. 41).

For Elisabeth and Rachel, the risk of what might happen to them and Elisabeth’s three-year-old daughter was worth it.  Sometime after returning to the States, Elisabeth said after reflecting upon her life: “Nothing is worth living for if it is not worth dying for.” 

There is

Philippians 2:1-11

I read a true story this week about a wife who stabbed her husband because she found a bunch of pictures on his phone of her husband with a younger woman she did not recognize.  Listen to how the online news blog, The Star, reported the story:

A confused and enraged wife stabbed her husband after seeing photos of him with a younger woman, who turned out to be herself from back then.  The suspect attacked her husband, only identified as Juan N., after she saw photos of him with a “younger woman” in his cellphone.  It turned out that the photos were of them back when they were still only dating, which the husband digitized so he could store them in his phone, according to the report.

Juan was able to explain this to his wife after managing to take the knife away from her, but only after he got stabbed.  Police got to the scene after neighbors reported shouting and sounds of scuffling from their home, the report said.[1]

The title of The Star’s post was, “Wife stabs husband after seeing her younger self in old photos, thought he was cheating.” 

When we read about the first century Church and the kind of affect she was having in the communities those first century Christians engaged, we may assume that the Church of the first century was completely different then the 21st century Church of our day.  It is understandable to assume this because passages like Acts 2:42-47 seem so alien to our own experience in the Church today:

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42–47, ESV)

The reality is that the Church of the first century is really the same Church of the 21st century.  The same Holy Spirit that empowered Christians in Acts 2:42-47 is the same Holy Spirit who promises to empower us to do the same today.  If we want to see and experience the same power and beauty the Church displayed back in her formative years, Paul tells us in Philippians 2:1-11 that we must first learn how to engage our world from Jesus.

When Paul wrote his letter to the Philippian Church, his purpose was to encourage them in their relationship with Jesus and to imitate his example. Before Paul wrote verses 6-11, he wrote verse 5, urging his readers to have the same attitude Jesus had, an attitude motivated by a love to go to an uncomfortable and difficult place to bring the good news of Jesus to a people at war with God.

So what does Jesus’ call to follow Him have to do with Philippians 2:5-11? To follow Jesus as His disciple means that we take up our cross and walk the trail He walked and to learn from his ways regardless of where following him may lead.  Paul outlined three main aspects of what the mission of God includes; to have the mind of Christ means that we will need to embody those same facets in our lives too.

Serve Like Jesus (vv. 1-3)

As followers of Christ, we are called to a different set of ethics than those of this present world. On one occasion, two of Jesus’ disciples pulled Him aside to ask if they could have the place of honor in Heaven by sitting next to Jesus in His kingdom. Jesus’ answer likely shocked the two of them: “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (see Mark 10:35-45). To have the mind of Christ

1 Corinthians 9:19-27

We live in a troubled world; everyone knows it, the movies portray it, and our latest elections were shaped by it.  This is nothing new, for generation after generation has experienced this since the dawn of civilization.  The cause of humanity’s ills has received countless hypotheses of its origins from as early as Socrates to Oprah.  The remedies for the human problem is offered from a smorgasbord of ideas… just take your pick from a line of modern thinkers such as Charles Darwin, Fredrick Niche, Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, or Dr. Phil.  In all that history has taught us, its most glaring lesson is that our problem is not government, family, poverty, public schools, social media, or power… our problem, as the Prophet Jeremiah so clearly put it, is: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it” (17:9).  Our problem is as old as the Garden of Eden as well as God’s promise to remedy it. 

Paul was haunted by something that drove and compelled him to tell as many people as possible that there is a remedy to our sin problem.  In fact, Paul went as far to pronounce a curse upon himself if he were to do anything but make the preaching of the Gospel his greatest priority: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16).  In Romans 9:2-3, the Apostle even went as far as to say: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.”  Why would Paul wish such a thing upon himself?  The reason why he would wish something so horrific as being cut off from Christ, because he understood what horrors awaited those who without Christ on the Great Judgment Day.

For every human born into this world looms a coming judgment reserved for all who stand guilty before the judge of the living and the dead who is the measure of all that is right, true, and holy because He is righteous, truth, and altogether holy.  We are told that concerning the human species that: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one…. There is no fear of God before their eyes”(Rom. 3:10-12, 18).  The Bible states that every person born into this world… is born into sin (Psalm 51:5) and by nature and enemy of the living God (Rom. 5:10).  We are told that all of us will stand before the throne of God be sentenced for the crime of being sinners who have sinned against Him:

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11–15, ESV)

The prophet Daniel describes the Day of Judgment this way: “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12:2).  The Amplified Bible translates Daniel 12:2 this way: “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but some to disgrace and everlasting abhorrence.” 

This is not all that we learn in the Bible concerning the fate of all who have not received the forgiveness of their sins through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 3:14-21

Last week I gave you seven reasons from the Lord’s Prayer why we must pray as a community who have been saved by Jesus and called into his mission to make disciples of all people.  Here are the seven reasons I gave:

We must pray because God is our Heavenly Father.We must pray because God is God.We must pray because God’s kingdom is coming.We must pray because it is God who provides for our needs.We must pray because of our failures and God’s faithfulness.We must pray because we are our greatest enemy and Jesus is our greatest advocate.We must pray because we have lost our way and prayer is the compass to guide us to where we need to be.

I believe that most of you agree with those seven reasons.  I think most of you agree with our mission statement: “We exist to develop followers of Jesus by prayerfully engaging our communities with the gospel.”  You probably have read or heard Philippians 4:13; maybe you have it tattooed on you like athletes such as Jon Jones, who is considered one of the all-time great MMA fighters of our time: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”  However, your experience living the Christian life may seem much different (show “Top Soccer Shootout Ever with Scott Sterling” video).

Maybe you feel like no matter how hard you try or how sincere your motives, you feel like you keep getting hit in the face. Or, maybe as simple as scoring a win for the Kingdom may look like, you keep missing the goal.

I said last week that some difficult days are ahead for the Church and that this is nothing new.  God’s people have always experienced more seasons of suffering then seasons of calm, peace, and respect from the outside world.  When it comes to the crazy times we find ourselves in, we were made for such a time as this.  Here is what I want to add to what I said last week: Not only were you made for such a time as this, but God has given you every resource to be the light for him and to engage in his mission in a world that wants to silence you. 

Last week I gave you seven reasons why we must pray; today I want to show you six reasons why it is essential through a prayer Paul prayed for the Ephesian Church that is also for us too. 

A Prayer for Meadowbrooke in 2021 (vv. 14-15)

For the third time in Ephesians, Paul begins with the words: “For this reason…”  The first time we see these three words is in Ephesians 1:15 just after he celebrated, in one giant run-on sentence (1:3-14), how the Christian is the recipient of every spiritual blessing in heaven.  In those verses, we learn that we were predestined and adopted as the children of God (vv. 3-6), we were redeemed through the blood of Jesus (vv. 7-12), and we were sealed by the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that we are heirs of all that belongs to Jesus (vv. 13-14).  Paul wrote in response to this: “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers…” (v. 15-16).

The second time Paul uses the phrase, “For this reason…” is in 3:1 in response to the amazing grace the Ephesian Christians experienced through the Gospel.  Once they were dead in their sins, but were made alive in Christ (2:1-4), and that this happened as a result of the grace of God for the good works that all Christians were made to do (vv. 8-10).  Because of this, Christians from all walks of life regardless of place, culture, or language are one in Christ (vv. 11-22).  So, Paul responded: “For this reason… Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (3:1, 6).  This is not just true of the Ephesian Christians, it is true of Meadowbrooke Church, and every other person who has placed their faith and trust in Jesus!

The third time Paul uses the phrase, “For this reason…” he does so just after reflecting on the mission of God that he and every other Christi

Matthew 6:7-15

A vision statement describes the goal of an organization; our vision statement as a church family is the following: “We exist to develop followers of Jesus who prayerfully engage their communities with the gospel.” 

The way you get to your vision statement is by implementing your mission statement; our mission statement is virtually the same with the exception of one word: “We aim to develop followers of Jesus by prayerfully engaging our communities with the gospel.”

Where we are headed for 2021…We will be shifting our service times again… hopefully indefinitely.9:30 AMPrayer 10:30-10:5011 AM

Daniel sermon series (begins February 14)

What I said on January 5, 2019…Life Groups: The best method to foster healthy disciples of Jesus.Connection Youth Group: It will be a priority and a vital part of our mission as a church.

A new full-time staff position…Our partners voted 100% in support of increasing our budget so that I can hire a full-time Youth and Young Adult Pastor

We received 27 resumes

I interviewed multiple potential candidates

Meet our new Youth and Young Adult Pastor: Bryan Standerwick

Family: Ashley (wife), Aleigha, Jayleigh, Alexander, and Maximus.

Moving from Oak Creek, Wisconsin

Start time: First week of March

Why I hired Bryan…He thinks and functions missionallyHe has a track record for engaging people outside the church.He has a God-centered passion for youth and people.

We need to keep moving forward regardless of what is coming…“So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.  Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.  For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” (Heb. 13:12-14)

Things will never be the same in America.  We were made for and are called into the craziness of our times.  We exist for such a time as this.

“We aim to develop followers of Jesus by prayerfully engaging our communities with the gospel.”

Jesus modeled a dependance upon prayer.The “Lord’s Prayer” in Matthew is sandwiched in the middle of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount which outline the ethics of his Kingdom and all who belong to it:“You are the salt of the earth…” (5:13)“You are the light of the world…” (5:14)“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’  But I say to you, ‘Do not resist the one who is evil.  But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.’” (5:38-39)“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” (5:44)

After the “Lord’s Prayer” Jesus said…“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth… but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven….  For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (6:19-20, 21)“Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” (6:34)“Enter by the narrow gate.  For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter it are many.  For the gage is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (7:13-14)

For Jesus, prayer was fundamental to the success of his mission.

Seven Reasons Why we put Prayer in our Vision and Mission Statement

1) We must pray because God is our Heavenly Father. 

When we approach God in prayer, we can approach Him like a child approaches his/her father. 

God is not unapproachable because He calls all whose faith rests in Jesus Christ His children. 

Romans 8:14 informs us why it is we can approach God as a child approaches a father: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received he Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry ‘Abba! Father!” 

2) We must pray because God is God. 

Secondly, when we do approach Him, we must understand that although God is our Father,

Isaiah 9:6-7

There are two words I want you to think about this evening.  The first is “Violate” and the second is “interrupt.”  To violate something is to break or fail to comply with a rule or formal agreement.  To interrupt means to stop the continuous progress of an activity or process.  Those are the two words that come to mind when I think of 2020.  Those are the two words that come to mind when I think ethnic tension in our country, those are the two words that come to mind when I am reminded of the presidential election, and those are the two words that haunt me when I think of our global pandemic.  I am hoping that 2021 will be different.

For some of you, a pandemic, crazy politics, or the potential of another recession is the least of your concerns right now.  For some of you, when you hear the words “violate” or “interrupt”, you think of a divorce, a disease, or maybe even a death.  Whatever it is that has violated or interrupted your life that you did not welcome or want, I hope that you will leave here encouraged.  

There is hope even today, and this Christmas is certainly a reminder that the words “violate” and “interrupt” are not always negative.  On the first Christmas, God violated time and space!  On the first Christmas the greatest news to grace the ears of men interrupted the darkness of sin: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10–11).

Before the announcement to the shepherds that the Christ child was born, generations leading up to that first Christmas longed and hoped for a deliverer who would right the wrongs of our world and bring the kind of peace that only God could bring.  They longed for the ancient promise of long ago delivered by the prophet Isaiah:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:6–7)

Jesus is the Son Who was Given

The birth of the Christ child announced to the shepherds was the birth of the son who the prophets said would be given.  He is the sign who was conceived while his mother remained a virgin (Isa. 7:14).  His birth took place in Bethlehem just as the prophet Micah foretold: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2). 

On the first Christmas, Immanuel violated the darkness of our world to be with us.  Tim Keller said of the Christmas story: “Christmas is an invitation by God: Look what I’ve done to come near to you. Now draw near to Me. I don’t want to be a concept; I want to be a friend.”

The Son was Given to Take Away the Sin of the World.

We learn from the Bible not only why we were born and why we are here, but that all of us were born with a problem called sin.  We are the reason why our world is in the mess that it is.  We are the reason for most of the suffering in our world.  We are told from the pages of Holy Scripture: “I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps. 51:5).  In another place, the Bible states what we know to be true: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick…” (Jer. 17:9). 

For Immanuel to be born of a virgin, to dwell with us, to be like us, and yet to live without sin a life that we could not live, God had to put on a robe of flesh for the first time in human history, and so Jesus was born.  When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he cried

Matthew 11:11-19

What person in your life “gets” you?  What I mean by that question is this: “Who is it in your life and world that you look forward and long to spend time with?”  Who is it in your life that loves and accepts you for you? 

Some of you may have had that someone in your life who you thought was that one person you were convinced accepted and loved you for you.  Now that person wants nothing to do with you, or because of death, can’t be with you… and today it still feels like your heart and soul is hemorrhaging. 

All of our friendships have a limit that can be withstood or a ceiling of what can be tolerated…

There were some who were offended that Jesus spent so much of his time at parties with sinners. 

He was accused by the pious and religious leaders of his day: “Look at him!  A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” 

The religious leaders meant this as an insult, but Jesus said that he came for sinners, and the sinners, “…were all drawing near to him” (Luke 15:1). 

The religious leaders believed that they were too clean to risk rubbing shoulders with tax collectors, prostitutes, and other types of sinners. 

Jesus is Faithful to the Unfaithful

To be criticized by the religious leaders was one thing, but to be doubted by the man who previously announced Jesus as the Lamb of God was quite another.

The context of Jesus’ statement in verse 19 is John’s question about Jesus’ identity. 

John was arrested by Herod because he rebuked the king for taking Philip’s (his brother’s) wife, to be his wife. 

According to Josephus (an early Jewish historian), Herod had John imprisoned in a location five miles east of the Dead Sea in a fortress that was both hot and secluded. 

John’s question he had his disciples deliver to Jesus was simple: “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another” (v. 3)?Now to be fair, John was not the only one among God’s prophets who experienced disillusionment and doubt. 

John prophesied of Jesus that not only would he baptize people with the Holy Spirit, but he would also Judge sinners: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Matt. 3:1). 

John’s question was legitimate, for he understood that Isaiah 61:1-2 was about the Messiah, which included more than miracles: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God…” (Isaiah 61:1–2). 

John was still in prison with very little hope of ever being free again, and Jesus was supposed to bring freedom to God’s people and avenge his people who have been victimized like John. 

Jesus’ answer to John’s question is telling: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (Matthew 11:4–6). 

In other words, Jesus came to first preach good news to the poor, provide freedom to captive sinners, provide sight to the blind, liberty to the oppressed, and the year of God’s favor which was forgiveness to indebted sinners (see Luke 4:18-19 and notice that Jesus never read the second part of Isaiah 61:2). 

But what Jesus wanted John to understand was two things: first, that the day of judgment was for a later time.  Secondly, that John would not be getting out of prison on this side of eternity.    

John’s perception of what Jesus would do in his lifetime did not line up with God’s plan for both Jesus and John.  What John failed to see was that before the coronation of the Messiah, there had

Luke 5:27-32

Early this week, GALLUP reported that, ‘Americans’ latest assessment of their mental health is worse than it has been at any point in the last two decades.  Contributing to the decline is not only the pandemic, but the recent election and race relations in our country.  Jobs have been lost, businesses continue to struggle to survive, and the future remains uncertain.  A year ago, things seemed to be going well for our country, but our confidence and security have, like a rug, been pulled from beneath our feet.  Now we are left feeling vulnerable with the sobering and daily reminder of how easily we can go from bad to worse. 

In light of the possibility of a CDC approved vaccine, the Gospel Coalition posted an article by Christopher Ash that warns of three dangers that most are not even considering.  There is more talk about the physical harm that a COVID-19 vaccine can do then the spiritual harm that it can cause.  I have even said half-jokingly that a year from now we might be dealing with a zombieish apocalypse (show 30 sec. video).  Christopher Ash’s article is the first I have read that warns of the dangers of putting our hope in the vaccine as our savior.   Ash begins by first stating that it is his deep hope for an effective vaccine, that we get it soon, and that it is made available to the world.  He believes that a successful vaccine will offer, “…some relief for the many enduring mental-health problems due to lockdowns and COVID restrictions, a way of escape for those suffering the hidden miseries of domestic abuse, the chance of restored education for millions of schoolchildren and college students, and a better prospect of jobs for so many whose work hopes have been blighted.” 

Although Ash hopes for a successful vaccine, he also is reminded of the dangers a successful vaccine poses and warns of three dangers.  The three warnings are:

We may not let God’s kindness lead us to repentance, for pandemics like COVID-19 warn us that there is a judgment to come (see Romans 2:4).A successful vaccine may feed our pride so that we neglect to thank God, and instead boast in our ability over God’s sovereignty. A successful vaccine may give us a false sense of security for the future.  Because there is widespread sentiment that we can happily return to normal because of the illusion that safety will be restored because of a vaccine.  Ash righty warns: “We may be safe from one virus (unless it mutates), but God still holds the power to execute his judgment against sinful humanity.  So, let’s not get our hopes out of proportion. If a successful vaccine is rolled out, it will because of the mercy of God.  But let’s not think we will then be exempt from his judgment.”

Suffering has a way of reminding us of who we really are.  We do not like feeling vulnerable or frail.  We certainly do as much as we can to escape death, and when death does finally victimize us, we do all that we can to hide it with makeup and embalming fluid.  However, suffering is a kindness that God uses to lead us to himself. 

Levi Was a Sinner

Tax collectors were one of the least respected professions in Israel for the simple fact that they collected taxes imposed upon the Hebrews by the Roman Empire who occupied the land of Israel.  A Jewish tax collector was hated even more and placed in the same category of sinners as, “robbers, extortioners, and adulterers” (Luke 18:11).

There were two different kinds of tax collectors.  There were the kind that collected property tax, poll tax, and income tax; these tax collectors could not skim a whole lot from the top of what they collected.  The other kind who collected tax on anything that could be transported on road; among these tax collectors existed chief tax collectors who hired people to work for them and those who simply manned a tax booth.  Chief tax collectors were seldom seen face to face, but tax collectors like Levi had to always deal with people face-to-face. 

Tax col

John 10

I read a statistic this week that 1/3 of all Americans have a great to a good deal of trust in the political competence of their fellow citizens.  That means that nearly 70% of Americans have little to no confidence in the political competence of their neighbors, coworkers, friends, and family.  In 1997 those percentages were flip-flopped with a staggering 64% of Americans believing that their neighbors were politically competent when it came to voting for our country’s future.  Right now we have a President Elect who seems to be the winner while our sitting president believes the election was rigged.  Politically, we are divided nation. 

Politics are not the only thing that divides us, we are divided with ourselves as a society.  We literally believe, as a society, that the physical genetics of our body and DNA are lying about our true gender and the real determining factor about our gender has more to do with the way we feel.  Just this past week Ellen Page, who is an academy award-winning actress, stated on her Instagram page:

“Hi friends, I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot. I feel lucky to be writing this. To be here. To have arrived at this place in my life.  I feel overwhelming gratitude for the incredible people who have supported me along this journey. I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self.”

Indiewire reported on Page’s Instagram post and titled their online article: “Elliot Page Coming Out Is a Historic Moment for Trans Masculine Visibility.”  In the comments section, scores of people praised Page; here are a few of those comments:

Mark commented: “I honor the courage of the transgender community coming out. I fall in that category myself being trans but I’m stuck in this male body the way things are going for me.”

Jennifer commented: “If they are really trans this is great, but if it’s just another Sam Smith where they claim to be but don’t do anything to transition then this will be unfortunate. I’m a transwoman. I changed my name after I was feminine enough for people to see me as a woman. This new idea that you just have to say you are transgender to be so is so dangerous. It completely erases people like me that truly are and need help. It’s not fun being trans. It hard. It’s costly. People need to understand it’s more than just a name change.”

In a survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of the American Osteopathic Association, 53% of American adults would support their teenage child’s request to transition to another gender.  The point I am trying to make is that we are a deeply conflicted culture on more levels then our politics.  In his book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, Carl Trueman attempts to answer the question how a particular statement has come to be regarded as coherent and meaningful in less than 30 years.  You are no doubt familiar with the statement: “I am a woman trapped in a man’s body.” 

The response by some Christians concerning the LBGTQ movement is not all that dissimilar to their response to other moral and social issues of the past with a lament to go back to some past golden age when things were different or “better.”  Some in the Church are already responding this way with the current political climate and pandemic crisis we find ourselves in.  Trueman offers the following challenge to his readers early in his book: “Every age has had its darkness and its dangers.  The task of the Christian is not to whine about the moment in which he or she lives but to understand its problems and respond appropriately to them.”[1] 

Think again about the message of Isaiah 9:6-7 to an oppressed, exiled, and dejected Hebrew people:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the incr

John 1:29-34

One of my favorite movies and stories is C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  After entering a magical wardrobe that transported the Pevensie children into the world of Narnia where it was winter, but never Christmas, due to the curse of the white witch for the last 100 years.  But after Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy enter Narnia things begin to change, for an ancient Narnian prophecy said that before Narnia would be delivered from its curse, two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve would appear.  The one who would deliver Narnia from the curse would not be the Pevensie children, but a Lion named Aslan:

Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.[1]

It was Aslan the Lion who would restore Narnia because he was the only one powerful enough and capable of doing so.  The reason we read or watch stories like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is because the winter we find ourselves in has been going on way too long, and we all long for the life that comes with the spring. 

John the Baptist was a person who fascinated the masses. He dressed in camel’s skin, ate locust and honey, and told all who came out to hear him to repent of their sins telling them things like: “You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bear fruits in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3:7-8).   Some wanted to know if he was the Christ, others thought that he might be the prophet Elijah who never died but was miraculously taken into heaven by a chariot of fire (see 2 Kings 2:1ff), some wondered if he was the prophet Moses said would come who would be like him (Deut. 18:15).  John was none of those individuals.  So who was he?  John said that he was, “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said” (John 1:23).      

The Lamb Was Given

Hundreds of years before John was born, there was an ancient prophecy given to the Hebrew people by the prophet Isaiah: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins” (Isa. 40:1-2).  When Isaiah’s prophecy was given, Israel was exiled by the Babylonian Empire because of God’s judgment on his people for worshiping other gods and breaking his commandments.  He had warned them for decades that if they continued in their sins, that judgment would indeed come.  In Isaiah 40, God promised his people that although they were experiencing his judgment, that he had not forgotten them. 

How would Israel’s warfare end and her iniquity be pardoned?  It would begin with a voice: “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken’” (Isaiah 40:3–5).

The wilderness is symbolic of a cursed creation.  It is appropriate that the voice that is to be heard is one crying out in the midst of the wilderness.  In the midst of pain, distrust, frustration, thorns and thistles, weariness, sweat, burdens, and death is a voice.  If there is a voice, there is life.  What is the voice crying?  “Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” 

Do you know what would be announced in the ancient east when the Babylonians conquered the land of a particular kingdom?  The following announcement would be made on behalf of the coming king: “Make his way good. Renew his road. Make straight his path. Hew him out a track.”[2]  In preparation of the arrival o