1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,560 We are wrapping up our sermon series, our Advent sermon series, 2 00:00:05,560 --> 00:00:10,400 The Mess and the Miracle. We are going to be in the Book of Isaiah this morning 3 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:15,560 looking at a sermon titled Christ Mess, as we've talked about the mess that we 4 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:19,200 found ourselves all the way back in the beginning of the world, right? 5 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:24,400 And we've kind of gone through different aspects of that, broken relationships, 6 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:28,840 the mess within ourselves, the mess within our communities, even our churches, 7 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:34,760 that Christ has come to give a new and show a new way. But I want to ask, 8 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:37,080 and if you're new or a guest this morning, I like to ask questions, 9 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,400 do a little interacting. I never know what you're going to say, 10 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:45,240 but it's always a good time for the most part. What is some of your favorite 11 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:51,280 aspects of the Christmas season? Now, I'm going to take off the Advent Jesus 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,440 Church answers, okay, because I know that's number one for all of you, 13 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,560 so I just don't want you all to say that at the same time. What else? 14 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:04,960 What else do we like about the Christmas season? Family, okay. Music, 15 00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:12,680 we'll come back to that. Gifts, absolutely, thank you, Joey. Others, 16 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:17,040 the lights, absolutely. Have you guys all gone to the one in Dyer behind the 17 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:23,120 Stardust Bowl? Do yourself a favor, get there early, but it is unbelievable. 18 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:27,320 And the one on Monroe here in Munster, he does a really, really good job as well. 19 00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:36,880 Others, snow, I reject that. Others, peace, like peace of food or candy or just 20 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:46,440 peace. The world becomes peaceful. Yeah, you all caught that one too, yeah. 21 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:52,840 The world, we might get to that one in a little bit. Others, makes you think of 22 00:01:52,840 --> 00:02:06,640 Bonquette. That gospel offertory doesn't get an applause, but Bonquette does? 23 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:13,840 Father, we come to you in this moment. Wow, okay, Bonquette, okay. Not going to 24 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,600 say anything, we're going to move past that one. Other people said others. 25 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:24,280 Traditions, sure, absolutely, yeah. Parties, absolutely. Cooking, okay, over 26 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:29,600 here. Music, right, so we've got two music over here. That's really the bridge to 27 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:36,760 this, we'll get to music in a second. Any others? The candlelight service. 28 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:42,120 Christmas trees. Your mom's cooking, nobody else's, but your mom's cooking. 29 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:47,880 And I agree with that, I agree with that. What? Wreaths, absolutely. We could go on 30 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:52,280 and on, there's so many things, right, almost 12 days of Christmas type thing 31 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:57,840 that we could do. No one said Christmas movies. That's, yeah, Christmas movies, 32 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:06,480 right? So once and for all, is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Amen. That was almost 33 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:10,680 louder than Bonquette, I appreciate that. But Christmas music, we have a couple 34 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,200 of music fans over here. What do you like about the Christmas music? I think that 35 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,720 was Joe and Parker, right? Joe Allen and Parker. Joe Allen, what do you like about 36 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:23,560 the Christmas music? Joyful, absolutely, yeah, like that offertory was awesome. 37 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:29,640 What about you? The message, right? Absolutely. And I think it's interesting, 38 00:03:29,640 --> 00:03:34,120 there are so many people that right after, it seems like Halloween, there are 39 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:38,640 stations on the radio that start playing Christmas music. How many people love 40 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:45,000 that? How many people hate that? I'm one of them, yeah. But it's funny that we just 41 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:51,320 kind of, this genre of music comes and plants itself in our lives for maybe it's 42 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:55,400 a week, maybe it's two weeks, maybe it's a month, maybe it's all of fall, right, 43 00:03:55,400 --> 00:04:00,120 however you want to do it. Does any of you, be honest, really listen to Christmas 44 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:09,120 music after January 15th? Why? The message is still good, it's still joyful, 45 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:15,640 don't we need that in our lives every day? Why don't we do that? Christmas 46 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:20,120 tradition, that our, we have been tradition, I'm going to say Christmas 47 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,680 conditioning, you know, get psychological about it, right, we've been always 48 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:29,520 conditioned to listen to this music just during this time of year. Some churches 49 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:33,600 like to get cute and do Christmas in July and they do something in July because 50 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,560 they know it's July and no one's there and you know, they're going to do it 51 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:40,720 anyway, don't worry we're not going to do that. But we've been conditioned for this 52 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:47,560 and what's interesting to me is the music. That for a lot of us, you know, when 53 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:52,840 we look on, when we turn the radio on and we hear rocking out to a way in the 54 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:59,720 manger. You guys rocking out to that in your cars? No. What songs come to mind 55 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:04,240 when you think of Christmas music, right, Umbrella of Grace, I don't expect you guys 56 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:09,360 to all listen to Christian music 24-7, 365, right, meaning you also listen to it 57 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:13,720 in your sleep. What songs really, when you hear it, you're like, that's the 58 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:21,080 Christmas season. What? Mariah Carey, absolutely. All I want for Christmas is 59 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:25,560 Bonquette, apparently. And so what else? What other songs that when they come on 60 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:33,920 they just hit? Trans-Siberian Orchestra, absolutely. White Christmas, Charlie 61 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:40,920 Brown's Christmas, yes, all of those, right. But when we think about those 62 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:46,640 Christmas songs, what was that one? The Last Christmas, that's the song about 63 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:50,320 Revelation. That's a different one, we're going to get to that in the fall. But 64 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:54,480 understand that there are aspects of those Christmas songs that just, man, 65 00:05:54,480 --> 00:06:00,360 things just hit. But I guarantee you Mariah Carey wasn't singing about Jesus. 66 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:04,400 She wasn't, right. I don't know her, but I doubt it. But if we think about all 67 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:07,400 these Christmas songs that when they come on, we're like, that puts us in the 68 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:12,440 Christmas mood. Let's go decorate the tree, let's go wrap gifts, let's go do 69 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:18,960 whatever Christmassy things you do. Rarely do they have to do with Jesus. Yet 70 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:25,120 this Christmas season should be all about Jesus. Some of you are engaging 71 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:30,320 that like, okay, Pastor Downer, that's still, I like to celebrate. See, caught 72 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:35,720 that, not donor, but downer. Thank you for that. Yeah, the rest of you, catch up. But 73 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:42,120 have nothing to do with Jesus. That they have everything to do with getting gifts, 74 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:46,000 sometimes giving gifts. Don't know too many songs about actually giving gifts. 75 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:50,800 But there's a couple, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, All I Want for Christmas, 76 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:55,840 What Christmas Means to Me. And there's one song, What Christmas Means to Me. I'm 77 00:06:55,840 --> 00:07:00,160 just gonna pull a little bit of the lyrics out. Candles burning low, lots of 78 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:06,240 mistletoe, lots of snow and ice everywhere we go, choir singing carols 79 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:11,400 right outside my door. It's hard not to get wrapped up in that. I hear those 80 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:15,940 lyrics, I just wanna, I don't know, a hot cup of hot chocolate and a fire and a 81 00:07:15,940 --> 00:07:20,240 Christmas tree and watching whatever Christmas movies, some of ours in the 82 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:24,720 Holland owner house, No Judgment is Home Alone. And understanding that it's just 83 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:30,240 this season. And this season means something to us. Yet we're very good at 84 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:35,200 forgetting about this season, probably about January 15th. Because we're gonna 85 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:40,280 turn into something else. Or that's where it starts to get really cold and we start 86 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:44,440 to really not like this season because of the bitter cold that we get in the 87 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:49,040 Chicagoland area. But the meaning of Christmas, right, we like to put in these 88 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:53,800 bright lights, we like to put in the stars, we like to put even in Jesus. But 89 00:07:53,800 --> 00:08:01,280 let me contend that the original idea of Christmas, the original meaning of Jesus 90 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:07,080 coming into the world isn't about lights, it isn't necessarily even about kind of 91 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:13,960 those fuzzy feelings we get. It's actually a lot darker. So let's think 92 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:19,200 about what Christmas would look like if there were no lights. If there were no 93 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:26,640 Christmas carols, right, you didn't have the story of Scrooge finding his way and 94 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:31,800 all of these things. We didn't have, you know, all those Christmas movies that we 95 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:37,880 love. What if all of that went away? What if there were no carols? What if 96 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:45,200 Christmas was just like any other day? How would we really take that as a 97 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:49,360 culture? I think a lot of the toy companies would really be upset, right, 98 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:53,680 because we're taking probably a lot of revenue out because if we think about it, 99 00:08:53,680 --> 00:08:57,840 it is a time during this Christmas season, we're okay with spending a lot of 100 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:05,040 money. What if you were asked to spend a lot of that money in June? Would anybody 101 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:09,240 like sign me up? No, we've gotten it to the point where we just do it all kind of 102 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:14,040 in that one part of the year. But one of the things we have to pull out and we 103 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:20,800 have to engage this morning is that Christmas isn't always about that. That 104 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:25,240 there's actually a darker side to Christmas and that is the mess that the 105 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:29,640 Israelites found themselves and the world found themselves when Jesus was 106 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:34,680 actually born. Now I'm not up here to debate what time of the year the ancient 107 00:09:34,680 --> 00:09:38,360 calendars or anything like that, right. Don't get lost in that. Nothing there 108 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:43,560 Selvitic that you need to worry about. But understand that Jesus came as a 109 00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:48,200 prophecy that wasn't all that joyous as far as what the people were going 110 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:52,680 through. That the people were looking towards something. They were looking for 111 00:09:52,680 --> 00:09:58,200 someone to do many different things and there were many different camps as to 112 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:03,520 what they thought the Messiah, the anointed one was going to do. They saw 113 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:09,000 the Messiah either as prophet, priest or king. And the thing is Jesus comes to 114 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:16,200 represent all of that. So let's jump into the book of Isaiah chapter 9. And so one 115 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:24,800 of the things we have to see is that we have in Isaiah 9 we have, you know what, I 116 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:33,040 think I actually gave the wrong texts. Yeah, I'm gonna start in 9. I think we can 117 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:40,800 take this one off. Yeah, go back really quick. Go to that one. Nope, that's right. 118 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:46,600 I'm wrong. Okay. But there were, but there will be no gloom for her who was an 119 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:51,880 anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt in the land of Zebulun and 120 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:56,200 the land of Naphtal, but in the latter times he has made glorious the way of 121 00:10:56,200 --> 00:11:01,200 the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. So that's kind of 122 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:06,840 the intro if you're here, but here's really where I want to go. The people who 123 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:11,360 walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of 124 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:18,120 dry darkness, on them a light has shown. You have multiplied the nations. You have 125 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:24,120 increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they 126 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:28,040 are glad when they divide the spoils. So there we have this understanding of 127 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:33,040 where we were. There's where the world was, right? The Israelites were there. 128 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:37,880 They were walking in darkness. They have this understanding that something was 129 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,800 coming, but they were not getting it. Hundreds of years since the last 130 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:48,080 prophecy, right, that we see about Bethlehem in Micah and understand that 131 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:52,760 there is a darkness. There is a void. There is this thing that is coming, 132 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:57,760 something talked about through ages and ages and generations and generations. 133 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:05,520 That there is a darkness. And the funny thing about darkness is if you walk in 134 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:12,800 darkness long enough, you get used to it. How many of you have ever been 135 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:17,160 splunking? Yes, that's a real word, right? And splunking is when you go down into a 136 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:21,640 cave and you walk through the caves. And you can get to the point where there's 137 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:26,560 almost 0% natural light, light being able to reflect on anything so we can see it. 138 00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:31,520 That's how light works, I think. But you get into the darkness long enough, the 139 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:36,680 darkness becomes the norm. Your body actually starts to normalize the 140 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:40,760 darkness. Which is why if you've ever been in like a dark room for so long and 141 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:43,640 then you go out into the light, you can't just go out and be like, oh, this is 142 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:47,760 great. No, it's almost oppressive, right, how the light is. That the people, the 143 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:51,520 Israelites, they got used to the darkness. The darkness of the understanding that 144 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:56,520 something was coming and what happened. All around them, corruption started to 145 00:12:56,520 --> 00:13:00,800 build. The corruption of the Romans, right, the corruption of the temple, of 146 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:06,440 the Jewish people, of the priests and the Levites, the Sadducees. That this 147 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:13,360 understanding that the darkness became the norm to me only emphasizes the light 148 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:20,520 and the hope we have in Christmas. The light and the hope we have in the Christ 149 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:24,640 child. The people who have walked in the darkness all of a sudden now are going to 150 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:30,720 see a great light. Let me ask a question. We know how the baby comes. We know that 151 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:37,200 story. We sing it. It's called, The Way in the Manger. We get it. What if the Christ 152 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:45,720 child came in the courts of Herod? What if this child was born in the glory of 153 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:54,120 the temple? I wonder if it would mean the same thing. That there's such a economic 154 00:13:54,120 --> 00:14:02,880 juxtaposition that I know us in 2023, almost 2024, can probably resonate with. 155 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:10,720 That if right now, tomorrow, we hear on the news that this baby was born and is 156 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:16,640 sent to be the Messiah overall, I guarantee, I'm going to go out on a limb 157 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:22,960 and say 99% of us wouldn't believe it. What makes that very different from when 158 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:29,040 it actually happened? It doesn't. That human skepticism and human cynicism has 159 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:33,960 been around since the fall of man. We see that from the beginning of Genesis 3. 160 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:38,920 That Jesus is coming in such a way that he is going to overturn. He's going to 161 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:43,240 shine a light in all of the areas that we have been comfortable with the 162 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:48,160 darkness. And what is that darkness? That darkness could be defined as your own 163 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:53,840 idolatry. And to me, that's one of the most impactful things that Christmas does 164 00:14:53,840 --> 00:15:01,840 is it shines a light on what I've been worshiping throughout the year. I'm going 165 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:08,640 to let that hang for a minute. Because as we center on the Christ, as we center on 166 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:11,520 the light of the world tomorrow, hopefully all of you come back and we 167 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:17,680 light the Christ candle. We read, we already read it in the Gospel of John, 168 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:22,240 that light came, the Word made flesh, dwelt among us. There was an intentional 169 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:28,920 act of the Savior of the world coming down to be with his people, to point to 170 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:37,680 the way of everlasting life. But even John talks about the world saw him but 171 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:42,520 didn't receive him, didn't listen, rejected. The stone that the builders 172 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:48,440 rejected became the cornerstone. It is so easy for us as a church to think high 173 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:54,640 and lofty, go, yeah, they didn't recognize him at all. They rejected what he had to 174 00:15:54,640 --> 00:16:03,720 say. Let's be honest. I have a feeling we would be in a very similar place. Why? 175 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:10,840 Because we at times love the darkness. At times we love the ability to hide. We 176 00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:15,760 love the ability to think that we are keeping things from other people. I 177 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:20,800 guarantee you in this room today there are secrets. I can make it super awkward 178 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:24,440 and ask all of you to stand up and give your deep dark secret and I guarantee no 179 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:28,640 one comes back next week. Because that would be super awkward. Because at times 180 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:34,920 we enjoy it. You can see it in the pureness of a child, right? Children that 181 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:40,200 learn what lying is seemingly just kind of out of thin air and, you know, some of 182 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,920 you may have had kids that are really good at it. Hopefully you have kids that 183 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:48,160 were not, right? And as parents it's a lot easier when your kid's bad at lying, 184 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:52,280 right, because it's a lot easier to figure it out. But this idea of darkness, 185 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:58,440 this idea of walking in darkness, notice it didn't say the darkness came and they 186 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:05,600 stopped and they waited. That story would be very, very different. If the Israelites 187 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:12,840 saw, okay, we're just gonna sit and wait. We're gonna wait until he comes. But they 188 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:18,600 got used to it. They walked in it. They lived in it and the darkness became a 189 00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:25,720 part of who they were. God's chosen people, but they weren't so perfect. They 190 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:30,480 weren't always the light. They had darkness within them. And so we see this 191 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:38,360 hope. We see this light described for us as to what it actually means. Those who 192 00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:43,520 have dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them the light is shown. The light 193 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:53,040 guides, the light protects, but the light also uncovers and exposes. I think about 194 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:58,160 in those movies where someone's in the interrogation room, right, or maybe some 195 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:01,280 of you use this as your parenting tactics when you're sitting down trying 196 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:04,640 to get the truth. You put a heat lamp up and you shine it in the kids face. Where 197 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:10,800 were you on this day? Maybe you don't. But I think about it in the movies that for 198 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:16,040 some reason that light shone and all of a sudden the truth, they tell the truth. 199 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:20,040 Right, you see it in the movies. All of a sudden the detective shines the light and 200 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:26,320 now they just, they just, they plead all of their guilt. Like what is that 201 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:34,640 light? That the light not only shines but the light exposes. And we see as we 202 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:40,080 continue that you have multiplied the nation. You have increased their joy. What 203 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:44,440 I love about this is the light is reminding them of how he has been at 204 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:53,440 work even amidst the darkness. So think about the last year of your life. I'll 205 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:57,920 think about mine. In those pits that you may have walked through where you felt 206 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:04,520 God very vacant. You felt God very estranged almost. Understanding that it's 207 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:08,360 never God that walks away. It's our understanding of God and our, and what we 208 00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:13,760 perceive as the presence of God in our lives. That we understand that that area 209 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:20,800 of darkness when the light comes it exposes that. It exposes maybe how far 210 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:28,800 we have walked away. But when the light shines it also shows where God has been 211 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:35,880 and will continue to be working. But I think we miss that. I think we miss when 212 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:40,160 the Lord exposes something and it's sometimes we feel like we're exposed and 213 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:43,080 we have to, we have to seek forgiveness and it's all about what we've done 214 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:51,120 wrong. Sometimes the light is shown to show where God has been working. Though he 215 00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:56,520 is the light of the world, right, that is Jesus. We know in our lives he is working 216 00:19:56,520 --> 00:20:00,880 even in those valleys of life and I know for a fact some of you are going through 217 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:05,120 those. And one of the greatest perspectives we can get as believers is 218 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:10,280 in those valleys in the non-Christmas times if you will. We have the 219 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:14,400 perspective that God is still at work. That's a little bit of that light 220 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:22,920 shining. That that light of Christmas is coming in every day of the year. But the 221 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:28,880 lights come to do something. It's caused to increase our joy as with the joy of 222 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:35,840 the hardest. It's caused us to be glad and as we continue go on to verse 4. For 223 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:40,040 the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, 224 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:47,200 you have broken as on the day of Midian. In the darkness there has been work. That 225 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:53,960 work is being done. That the Holy Spirit, the kingdom of God, is still at work. The 226 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:57,920 kingdom of God is active every day. It's not just Christmas, right, it's not just 227 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:01,680 the week of Easter. Yes though that's when we see a lot of churches filled is 228 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:05,040 during those two holidays. We need to recognize that the light is shining 229 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:10,560 always and what is the light doing? Bringing justice, bringing mercy, bringing 230 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:14,400 us to a place of humility, of understanding that the world is not about 231 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:20,720 us. For the yoke of the burden, the staff of the shoulder, the rod of the oppressor, 232 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:26,760 you have broken. For every boot of the tampering warrior in a battle tumult and 233 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:32,840 every garden rolled in blood will be burned as fuel of the fire. That is a 234 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:37,920 declaration my friends, a declaration that Christmas means something. That the 235 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:45,200 light of Christmas is there to remind us of where he's also been at work. But that 236 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:50,640 first Christmas, right, if you're following the story of the Bible, right, I 237 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:54,520 think about it when you remember those Indiana Jones movies when he's traveling 238 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:57,960 you see the plane hit certain cities and then go off and then hit a certain city 239 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:02,600 and go off. And remember there's only four of them, that fourth one we reject. 240 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:08,000 You think about the story of the believer, the story of Christ, the story 241 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:13,120 of God's people is coming to a point where now the trajectory is going to be 242 00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:19,440 different. The trajectory is going to mean something far more. The trajectory 243 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:27,480 is now salvation in human form. Salvation fully God, fully man coming down to show 244 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:38,120 us the way. Sometimes I wish we could get a glimpse personally, intentionally of 245 00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:45,840 what that first Christmas was. But let me ask, the guy that went to the market 246 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:50,760 every other day, did he not go to the market after Jesus was born? No he did. 247 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:56,560 Did the the war still happen that we're going to happen? They did. Did the temple 248 00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:02,080 still have all the good, the bad, and the ugly in it? They did. It's not like the 249 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:07,680 minute that that child is born and breathed his first breath that everything 250 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:13,560 got better. Because Jesus was pointing to something. He was pointing to reveal 251 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:18,120 himself. We see it throughout scriptures. It's almost like this angst as he gets 252 00:23:18,120 --> 00:23:23,360 older, right, we see that with the wedding at Cana. A woman he says to his mom, my 253 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:28,520 time has not yet come. There is a timing to all of this that in God's perfect 254 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:33,280 timing is meeting with each and every one of you to change the trajectory of 255 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:39,000 your life. I had the honor of sitting with a friend and a friend's family this 256 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:44,920 week as a loved one changed the trajectory of her life. That she was 257 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:49,880 going one way and recognized Christ as Messiah and now anew and now her life is 258 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:55,720 different. Her life is changed. The trajectory of her life completely turned 259 00:23:55,720 --> 00:24:02,320 upside down. Well, pastor, as you talk about it this way, then why didn't he come as a 260 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:07,800 king? Why didn't he come as a conquering hero or some kind of, as we talked about 261 00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:11,920 a couple weeks ago, just kind of like a like I don't know like Superman or some 262 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:17,840 kind of superhero? Why didn't he come in like we read about him at in the book of 263 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:26,200 Revelation? Because that wasn't his plan. Because that was not what was prophesied. 264 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:31,640 Because in my opinion, the gospel according to Pastor Jim, he came in the 265 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:39,840 purest form. Because if he would have come as an adult, there would have been 266 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:44,520 political ties to that. There would have been financial ties to that. Ecclesiastical 267 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:49,960 ties to that because there were already people doing that. There were already 268 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:54,600 little M Messiahs going, I am the one to come. I am the one to come. Guess what? No 269 00:24:54,600 --> 00:25:00,560 they weren't. Oh, that's crazy. We don't have any of that today. Yeah, we do. People 270 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:03,160 that think they can read this in such a way that they know when the world is 271 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:06,280 gonna end and they get a bunch of people to follow them and they get a bunch of 272 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:15,040 money. He decides to come in such a way that I think not only turns heads, makes 273 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:20,680 us scratch our head, make us curious and wonder, makes us maybe even disappointed. 274 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:31,360 For unto us a child is born, to us the Son is given. Wow. For unto us a child is 275 00:25:31,360 --> 00:25:41,080 born. There's a collective understanding that Jesus is born for all of us. I 276 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:46,080 remember when all three of my, not both, I have three, when all three boys were 277 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:52,600 born, right, we didn't say this, but it was a gift for Carrie and I, for our 278 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:58,400 family, that our family expanded. At no time did I think, oh my church family 279 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:01,680 expanded. We were down in Crown Point at first year. See, like, oh the church family 280 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:05,640 expanded. Oh, this is great. No, it was very personal. That's not this. No, it's 281 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:10,400 personal. It's for the world. For unto us, now the Israelites read it as them, but 282 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:16,480 as we know now with Jesus that he was coming to bring salvation. For unto us a 283 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:22,920 child is born, a son is now being given to us. And I love how Isaiah puts this, 284 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:29,720 right, one of the weeping prophets, right, this understanding of speaking into a 285 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:36,520 system that will want to kill it, to kill him and it. The government shall be upon 286 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:42,880 his shoulders. That on the shoulders of a crying baby, the government will be 287 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:48,800 radically changed. The life we know now will not be the life that will be 288 00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:56,200 because of this baby. And the government will be on his shoulders. So when 289 00:26:56,200 --> 00:27:00,120 anything has to do with the government, it's all about the title, right? It's all 290 00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:03,680 about the title. I have a couple friends, you know, we know Cindy Dornell, her 291 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:08,040 husband was elected as a state senator. Our good friend Mike, who comes to church 292 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:10,960 every once in a while, he's a state, he's a house of representatives. Or you have 293 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:14,560 the president or the president-elect. It's all about these titles. It's all 294 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:19,200 about, you know, these titles should mean something, right? Back in the day, people 295 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:23,200 cared if you had the word reverend before your name. Now, not so much. But 296 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:29,400 understand that we have titles. We love that. Have you ever been corrected by a 297 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:35,360 doctor? Hi, this is my friend Steve. No, that's Dr. Steve. There's a reason. It's 298 00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:43,920 been earned that we have these things. We enjoy these things in the world. Look at 299 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:48,680 the corporate ladder climb, right? If you're trying to get that next job, it's 300 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:53,440 because it's a title. A higher title sometimes means a pay raise. All of those 301 00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:58,920 things until you get to the top. CEO, CFO, president of the organization, whatever it 302 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:07,200 is. I love how Isaiah speaks right to us today. The government will be upon his 303 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:16,200 shoulders and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor. Why? Because we need 304 00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:22,960 counsel. That people are lost and they need an opportunity to speak out the 305 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:27,760 crazy and for us to make sense and perspective of our lives. He shall be 306 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:34,160 called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. I don't know. I think that's kind of the 307 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:40,560 trump card, isn't it? But in a world that recognized other gods in a far more 308 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:45,800 thematic and maybe more artistic way than we do now. I mean, I think we still 309 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:51,040 have those. Technology, money, fame, all of those things, those are God's, lower 310 00:28:51,040 --> 00:29:00,840 case G. Almighty God, everlasting Father, that he is the Father to the fatherless. 311 00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:06,240 Everlasting, that we have this understanding that his love and this 312 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:11,400 power and authority is never going to end and this is him as a baby. He hasn't 313 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:25,280 even grown up and talked yet. We'll get there. Prince of Peace. Counselor, God, 314 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:36,000 Father, Prince, Prophet, Priest, and King. That is the Christ child. That's why it 315 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:41,720 makes a difference. So he has this title, right? In the world today, we earn that. 316 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:47,000 Rich, you were a superintendent of a school system, right, for how many years? 317 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:52,160 Eight. Superintendent, that's a big deal, right? That's probably the highest you can 318 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:57,000 get in an educational system. And understanding that he earned that. Someone 319 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:03,680 recognized that he was given that title. That was something derived, given to him. 320 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:10,560 This is what he was born with. He was born with these titles. He was born with 321 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:15,440 this identity. He was born with this understanding that this is what 322 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:21,960 he would be named. This is how he would be distinguished from everybody else. 323 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:28,360 But then he was going to do something. Of the increase of the government and the 324 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:33,120 peace, there will be no end. On the throne of David and over his kingdom, to 325 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:39,040 establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness. From this time forth 326 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:47,440 and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Nowhere in there does 327 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:53,200 it say, with him, all of my days will be good days. With him, all of my wishes will 328 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:59,360 be grand. He's not a genie. He's not an ATM. He is the prince of peace. That he 329 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:07,520 was going to come and change everything. That nothing was going to stay the same 330 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:11,960 because it couldn't. Because when the light comes into the world, a light that 331 00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:21,160 darkness cannot snuff out, that means something. As I land the plane this 332 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:27,480 Christmas Eve, what's your January 16 going to look like? What's your February 333 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:30,840 1 going to look like? Are you going to think about the light? Are you going to 334 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:36,320 think about, you know, Almighty God, the wonderful counselor, the prince of peace? 335 00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:42,840 Because the one thing we know about the darkness, it's not dumb. Many times I 336 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:46,640 think Satan gives us these weeks. He gives the church these weeks. Oh, believe 337 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:54,520 me, he's still very active. But maybe, just maybe, he goes, all right, we'll give 338 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:59,240 him till the middle of January because they're going to forget about all this. 339 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:03,960 All these feelings, all these emotions, all these traditions, all of these family 340 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:08,040 times, these gifts, the singing, the candles, all of this light, all of this 341 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:15,160 joy, right, or this hope and love and joy and peace. All of this is on the front of 342 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:23,640 our mind. But maybe Satan's going, ah, just wait. Let's give him this time. We'll 343 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:29,240 hit him with the darkness again in January. Doesn't work that way, friends. 344 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:35,080 Isaiah tells us it's never going to work that way again. That darkness can never 345 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:44,760 overcome the light. God's coming into your mess. God is coming into my mess to 346 00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:50,880 shine a light, to expose what needs to be exposed, to fulfill what needs to be 347 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:55,480 fulfilled, to guide what needs to be guided, to console what needs to be 348 00:32:55,480 --> 00:33:02,440 consoled, to have an authority of an almighty God in it, the everlasting Father 349 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:08,440 to maybe restore those relationships. And finally, for all of us, and I raise my 350 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:14,920 hand first and foremost, will be the battle for our anxiety. That the Prince 351 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:20,080 of Peace will come. Paul will further understand this peace that passes our 352 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:26,280 understanding. And I think that peace is one of the greatest gifts that we get at 353 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:34,240 Christmas. But guess what? We're going to get it on January 26th, December 26th, 354 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:42,000 December 27th, December 28th, and so on until we're with peace in the flesh. That 355 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:49,000 is something we get. That is something that is given to us in this Christ child. 356 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:56,480 Tomorrow we're going to look at it in another different way. But sit in that 357 00:33:56,480 --> 00:34:01,560 today, friends. Enjoy the traditions. Enjoy the holidays. There is nothing 358 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:08,520 wrong with it. But understand that that counsel and that might, that everlasting 359 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:16,760 love and relationship and that peace is for us, is for the church every day of our 360 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:20,400 lives. Let's pray.