The Wise Men Were A Long Way Off

Matthew 2:1-4

Christmas Eve Meditation.

Tonight, I am thinking of the wise men and what they mean in this Christmas Story.

I don’t want to burst anybody’s bubble, but I want to talk about the fact that during the night of the Nativity, the Wise Men were actually a long way off.

There are too many miracles to talk about that night. So, I want to focus on the miracle that relates to them.

That night, when Christ was born, God lit up a sign that the whole Northern Hemisphere could see.

A Star appeared above Bethlehem. It had a miraculous quality about it, because it pointed the way to Bethlehem and it signified that a King was born.

As soon as this meditation is over, we are going to hear the music to my favorite Christmas Carol: O Holy Night.

The 2nd verse says, “Led by the light, of faith serenely shining…” and then it segues to “…a star gleaming…” and then “…here come the wise men…”

The implication is that on this Holy Night, the wise men appeared.

But on that night, they were a long way off.

They saw the star. So what did they do first? The next day they got out the ancient books that told them about the signs in the heavens. They probably found a piece of writing from the Prophet Daniel that told of a star appearing the night that the King of Kings would be born.

Then they have to plan a trip across a desert, they have to provision themselves, they have to open up the treasury and pick out gifts for this newborn King.

They make the journey across the desert, by now, it is a month, maybe two, maybe a whole year. And since they know that a King is born, they don’t go to Bethlehem, to a manger in a stable, but instead they go to nearby Jerusalem, to Herod the King and ask him to see his new child.

Herod is shocked, no child is born to his home but he puts on a front. He asks them when did the star appear? And they indicate that it was less than two years ago. But by the time they get there, that holy night had passed somewhere from a month, to two years before.

When the star appeared the wise men were a long way off.

And it wasn’t merely distance that had separated them.

They were far apart in so many ways.

But they came. Why?

What strange force brought them there?

Just like every culture, we believe that what we do in our culture is the best way to do things.

To worship this King, they not only had to cross geographical boundaries, but also the distance in religion, philosophy, ideology, and economics.

They gave that up, in order to worship something new to them.

They crossed the boundary of their faith, their culture, their society and the core of their beliefs.

They came a long way.

And that is wonderful. How did they know? No one really knows, but I suspect that they actually came from the area that was once Babylon and they read the writings of the prophets Daniel and Ezekiel. But they could have come from as far away as India, or China.

Somewhere, in that completely different culture, God left a witness to Himself and the coming of Jesus.

God overcame that obstacle in order to lead them to His Christ.

And they were willing to follow.

So the song says, “Led by the light of FAITH…” I would have thought that it would say led by the light of the star.

But these men overcame their differences in order to come.

To me, it shows the global nature of God’s redemption. God apparently didn’t care that they were pagans; He lit a light in the sky to draw not only the Jewish people to Jesus, but also to everyone, everywhere.

That is why the angels said: “This is good news for everyone” as Eugene Peterson puts it in the message: “Everyone, worldwide.”

Kathy and mom outdid themselves this year decorating the inside of our home for the holidays. The mantle has an angel overlooking it, with gold and silver ribbon, a Christmas spray that we bought here at the bazaar, with white, gold and maroon candles. The base of the fireplace is decorated with our own collection of nativity sets. It is very beautiful.

But mom was also thinking about the distance between the wise men and the Jewish people and how God made it clear in the nativity story that God was investing in the time and energy to reach out to the entire world.

Because sometimes, we can be right next door to someone and still be a long ways away. The geographical distance between the Wise men and the nativity was not as big as the other differences. And those differences can be just as great with a next door neighbor.

So, on the mantle, mom put a Menorah. She put it there because she has befriended out next door neighbor, a sweet, charming, intelligent, funny Jewish woman.

God bridged the gap between Himself and humankind when He came to earth as Jesus. He also bridged the gap between people groups who have at times been bitter enemies. God reached out and made the effort.

So the song says that the wise men were led by the light of faith. God gave that light of faith to draw everyone to Jesus. It is different in different cultures and if we can appreciate that difference, we can experience that peace He talked about.

Mom reached out and made the same effort with our neighbor.

Jesus truly is “the Prince of Peace.”

Let His peace reign in you as well.

What IS Faith, Anyway?

Text: Luke 1:39-55

Focus: Faith

Function: To call people to believe in Jesus.

Form: Storytelling

Intro:

It’s Christmas! Praise the Lord!

2000 years ago, God became a man and walked among us.

We look back through history and read these stories, some that are so incredible that they almost seem too hard to believe.

An Old woman gets pregnant by an old man, and a young woman, a virgin, gets pregnant and she knew no man.

(SHOW) The Christmas story is incredible.

It is incredible! It is incredible to the point that some people refuse to believe it.

They say: “perhaps the story was embellished until what was ordinary became what some people call a miracle.”

I believe that Jesus was born exactly as the Scripture says He was. I believe that He walked the earth doing all kinds of miracles and demonstrating incredible mercy to everyone.

I believe that after He did the Father’s work by giving us a visual image of how people are to live and treat each other, He did work on behalf of humanity and offered His life as a sacrifice for our sins.

I believe that He rose from the dead 3 days later to prove to us that the sting of sin, death, no longer has power over anyone who trusts Him.

I don’t believe it is just a story that was made up.

I know it to be true because when I prayed and asked Him to forgive my sins and come into my heart, I felt Him enter.

I believe it all.

And the fact that it happened 2,000 years ago makes it easier, not harder, for me to believe.

What if it were today? What if one of our young virgins suddenly and miraculously became pregnant? What if one of our older women suddenly and miraculously became pregnant?

What if it happened right here, right now?

I would have a hard time believing that it was happening to us, to me.

(SHOW) It is hard for us to believe that it has happened for us also.

I think of the greatness of God, and I think that that mercy, blessing, treasure could happen, but to me? But to us?

Their faith is expressed in the way they greeted each other.

They were ordinary women, just like us.

(SHOW) This miracle happened to ordinary people.

They weren’t famous, special, rock stars, sports heroes, actresses or nobility. They were nobodies and the most crucial event in history happened with them.

And they believed it.

They believed it was happening to them!

Elisabeth’s husband didn’t believe, and was struck dumb for 9 months –he couldn’t speak.

But Mary, Mary, treasured these words in her heart and gave herself over to the will of God.

There was only one person who could understand what she was going through. That was her wiser, older cousin.

So she visited and as soon as they met, another miracle happened.

Elisabeth, who was three months farther along in her pregnancy than Mary felt the baby leap for joy as soon as she heard Mary’s voice.

Then Elisabeth knew that the miracle was true.

And so they greet each other.

And this isn’t an ordinary greeting.

Elisabeth starts crying out in joy when she greets Mary!

I can picture it: the first thing that happens is Mary’s shock that this old woman was shouting out these words.

But it doesn’t scare her, as a matter of fact; Mary’s response is just as strange.

Mary answers her shout with a song: “The Magnificent.”

She sings this song about how God has pleased Himself with doing this miracle on someone who is insignificant, who is not a star, or a rich and important person. She sings this song about how this proves that God’s care, God’s family, extends to everyone.

She sings a song of faith in the mercy of God.

She sings a song about God coming to the least, the poorest, the most despised of humanity. God comes for everyone.

She understands that the reason she is chosen is because God does not give conditions of grace based on the popularity, power, success, good looks, education or wealth of any single person.

(SHOW) EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

She understands it and she believes it.

She believes that God loves her.

I go to the mall at Christmas time to do my shopping and I see the faces of people, and oftentimes I just smile because I see the people, regardless of wealth, skin color, education, good looks or whatever that Jesus came to save. When I am praying about it, I see them as individuals that Jesus loves.

It is easy to hope and trust in the fact that God cares for ALL OF MANKIND it is harder to trust that you, I, the individual, are special.

Mary and Elisabeth demonstrate great faith.

Faith. (SHOW) What is faith?

The author of Pumpkin Patch ministries says it like this:

(SHOW) Faith is reliance

"Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished."

He said: “For many years I had a problem with the word `faith’. I was never quite sure what it meant. Even to this day believers will speak of faith as if it were a divine quality of perfect trust. It is claimed that a person who possess this spiritual gift is able to accept God and his word without any doubts. I think it was this type of view that confused me, and I suspect that it confuses many others as well.

(SHOW) Faith is not “doubt-free” acceptance.

“If faith is a doubt-free acceptance of Jesus and of his word, then I don't have it. I often have doubts, I wonder about it all, I question the ground of my being. So, my faith is certainly not doubt-free.”

(SHOW) Faith is not just a “good bet.”

He says: “The other extreme is to see faith in Jesus as if it is a good bet. Having considered all the options in life, we take a punt on Jesus. I mean, if we are wrong we lose nothing, but if we are right we gain everything. Jesus is certainly a good bet, but the bet is not faith.

(SHOW) Faith is reliance on the revealed will of God.

“Elizabeth declares that Mary is blessed, not because she is somehow more spiritual, righteous, even sinless, but because she believes what God said. She went with what she was told, along with all her doubts, fears and questions. This reliance on God's word, this sticking to it, this firm resting on it, is what the Bible means by faith. Such a faith is saving faith. Faith is relying on what we hope "will be accomplished" in Christ our Lord.”

And it is personal. I don’t have all the answers, but I do understand something that is wonderful.

(SHOW) Jesus not only came for the masses of humanity, but He came for me and you.

CONCL:

Do you accept Him?

There is More to Christmas Than Hope!

Text: Luke 3:1-17

Focus: Repentance

Function: To help people see the justice of holiness instead of the sin of consumerism.

Form: Storytelling

Intro:

You know the story of how Mary went to see her cousin Elizabeth when she was pregnant.

• God sent her to see her. The two cousins were very far apart in age. Elizabeth was in her 80’s and Mary was somewhere between 14 and 18.
• God sent her to encourage her and God sent her to protect her from the gossip that people will automatically do when they have a reason to believe that there is a scandal.
• They both knew that what was happening to them was a miracle.
• God sent Mary to Elizabeth, a wise older Godly woman who gave her council, moral support and encouragement.
• It is a great picture of how things happen in the Church. It is a great picture of how things happen here at Bear Creek.

(SHOW) The story of John the Baptist.

So, Cousin Elizabeth has a baby boy born 3 months before Jesus is born. John the Baptist is what he is called.

He starts his ministry about a year before Jesus starts His ministry.

But John goes about it in an odd way.

He moves into the desert, joins a group called: “The Essenes” and lives a simple, sort of monastic lifestyle. Actually, the Essenes were this group of Jewish believers who believed in simple living. They sort of correlate to modern day Amish.

Most people think they are quaint, and odd. Most people notice an Amish buggy when it drives by, or they notice an Amish couple in the store. Because they are odd, they make great characters for movies.

But the thing is, because they are different, they are noticed.

And John the Baptist gets noticed. All of a sudden, God’s Holy Spirit comes inside of him and he starts preaching out in the desert.

And the odd thing is, people start leaving the comfort and security of the town, to go out into the desert and bear the heat to listen to this guy preach.

He becomes a phenomena. Everybody starts talking about him.

(SHOW) John’s message is a hard word of self-denial, repentance and the coming judgment of God.

It is not a message of hope.

And yet, this story of John the Baptist is included in scripture right along with the rest of the Christmas story.

What do we learn from that?

(SHOW) There is more to Christmas than hope.

That is a weird statement. It is a little shocking. The intent is to get our attention and consider what he is actually saying. I want to break down the real message, the way John the Baptist gets into the heads and the hearts of the people who flocking to hear him.

I would read this passage, especially when I was growing up and hear about repentance, listen to him calling them “a bunch of snakes,” and hear the words about the axe being laid at the base of the tree and the tree being cut down and thrown into the fire.

And then he says, that people aren’t born into faith, being part of a family that worships God doesn’t mean that you are automatically Jewish or Christian.

John is yelling at them and telling them to not act like they are godly, but to truly be godly.

And I have heard a lot of sermons about that concept. I would, and do, squirm in my seat and think about that bad thought I had, the way I leered -for a moment- at someone different from my wife, the way I laughed at a cruel or dirty joke. I would squirm when I haven’t succeeded in resisting sin, or harboring a grudge against someone, or listening to gossip, or worse, spreading gossip.

And the fear that I was not actually repentant would fill my mind and I would live in fear that somehow, after trying so hard to be a Christian, I would be one of the ones who was condemned.

And I want to make sure that this kind of preaching stays true to the scripture and honors the grace and hope freely given us by Jesus. That hope we celebrate at Christmas.

Because if that preaching merely uses fear, or misdirects holiness to some false standard of what it means to be righteous, then it is condemned in scripture.

Paul said, if anyone preaches a gospel different that what you first heard, they should be condemned for lying about God’s Word.

It was a problem then, and it is a problem now. Paul talks about it quite a bit in the book of 2 Corinthians. The church’s faith has been corrupted by preachers who claim a false authority, put them back into the bondage of legalism and keeps their focus off of Jesus and the things that Jesus preached as important.

At one point he points to preachers who falsify the moving of the Holy Spirit with mere preaching tricks that are designed to stir up emotion, mainly anger, as a substitute for the work of the Holy Spirit.

It is like they know how to feed on people who are so covered in shame that they submit themselves to abuse from the clergy.

Look at this verse: (SHOW) 2 Corinthians 11:20 You are even patient with those who order you around, or use you, or trick you, or think they are better than you, or hit you in the face.

Some people are attracted to that kind of preaching. And hopefully you are thinking, “Pastor, you seem to be getting off the subject of Christmas.”

I am not. I want to keep us focused on the true gospel and remember that there is more to Christmas than hope.

The more: John the Baptist is talking about  repentance.

(SHOW) Accepting and receiving Christ includes the necessary act of repenting.

Now, I am not about to stoop to the level of those charlatan preachers who know how to manipulate a crowd by shaming them.

That is not the way the Holy Spirit works.

But I do want to preach about repentance today.

To sincerely celebrate Christmas, to sincerely practice the Christian faith means that we become a people who have been changed by God. We make the choice to live our lives the way Jesus taught us instead of the way we were used to living.

(SHOW) Repentance is choosing to live the way Jesus taught us to live instead of the way culture teaches us to live.

Now John the Baptist’s sermons are more than what I do. John the Baptist was a prophet. He didn’t sit down and write it out, look up bible texts to make sure he is staying true to God’s word. He didn’t add his flavor, personality or even his own stories to illustrate his points.

He didn’t preach sermons. He spoke under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

So, when he called out the crowd for its insincerity, he wasn’t judging them with his own opinion or theology. No. God was speaking to them through him.

This isn’t the phenomena of those crowds that listen to preachers who shame and abuse them that I mentioned earlier.

These aren’t sick people who like to be abused.

These people are compelled to hear his words.

It isn’t emotional trickery. God’s Holy Spirit is burning these words into their heart.

John institutes a whole new practice for those ancient believers. He baptizes them. There is nothing in the OT scriptures that command baptism. It is merely hinted at in a couple of places.

And the people are flocking to him.

And God shows him that some of them are not sincere.

So here he is, the prophet who has captured the imagination of the whole nation. Many hear his message, repent and are baptized as a symbol of their repentance and commitment to actually live the Christian life.

(SHOW) The message of repentance is included in the Christmas story.

But because he is popular, another large crowd wants to look like the rest of them.

They are insincerely getting baptized.

• And God is calling them out.
• And they hear him.
• The word convinces, convicts them of their hypocrisy.

And in humility and sincerity, they simply ask him: (SHOW) “What is genuine repentance?”

If he preached that today, the crowd would cry out: “How do you know we aren’t sincere?”

Now I mentioned that repentance is changing your life to live the life that Jesus taught us. It means we turn away from sin and obey God.

And I am fascinated by the four specific things that John says.

Two of the things he says are to the whole crowd and then two things are to specific groups.

He isn’t outlining 4 rules as if that is all that is required, but his answers, both to everyone and to the two groups, explain the spirit of mercy behind true repentance. (repeat)

So, what does he say?

(SHOW) To everyone he says: if you have two coats, give one away to a poor person. If you have extra food, give it to a poor person.”

I have seven coats. Hmmm.

Remember, he is painting a picture of what repentance, righteousness, godliness, and true faith looks like.

He doesn’t say “go to church every Sunday, pay your tithe, sing the hymns, and stop cussing.”

These people were already doing that.

In all of his statements, (SHOW) His description of repentance has to do with their generosity, mercy and honesty.

The specific sin that he is talking about here that the people need to repent from is hoarding.

The warning is clear; the axe is laid at the tree to be burned in a fire.

Apparently, this is a big thing to God.

I was listening to “the Story” on NPR last Wednesday. A woman who grew up in Bulgaria was telling how before the Berlin wall came down; they would get up at 5 in the morning and get in lines at the local grocery stores. The whole family would go to different stores and wait until the stores opened at 8:00 in the hope that they would be able to purchase milk and bread.

She said that the people in line weren’t nice. Once the store opened, nobody was polite because it was a matter of survival.

I thought about those people waiting in line for survival and Black Friday here in America.

I know for many it is fun, and I am not going to condemn it. People can save a lot of money.

But let me change the title of the sermon a minute to put this statement into perspective: (SHOW) “There is more to Christmas than presents.”

Now, two weeks ago we saw that there is a good theology around the tradition of presents as it reflects the example of Saint Nicholas and God’s own gift to us in Jesus.

But John the Baptist is getting to the heart of people and saying, there is more to life than material things.

The next two items he mentions have to do with the way we do our work.

The first two were about generosity and mercy.

The second two are about mercy and honesty.

Mercy is included in both answers.

He answers the question from two specific groups. These groups were the ones that everyone else used to feel good about themselves by looking down on them as being terrible sinners.

The tax collectors and the Roman soldiers.

He tells the tax collectors to be completely honest and don’t cheat anyone. After all, the tax collector could fudge the numbers and make people pay more, pocket the difference. And if they refused, well, there was the Roman soldier standing there with his sword.

He explains this principle: (SHOW) A Christian society makes sure everyone gets a chance.

To the Roman soldiers: He doesn’t tell them to put away their swords and change professions. I am kind of surprised by that.

But he does tell them to be content, not to be cruel and to treat everyone else like they are human as well.

I wish John the Baptist could step into both houses of Congress these days and speak to the mean-spirited rhetoric that is going on.

He can’t but we can speak to our neighbors about what it means to be righteous and just. We can do it by example

John could remind them that “the axe is laid at the tree and God cares about how we as people live in relationship to generosity, mercy and honesty.”

So what do we do? Let us resolve to let the true Spirit of giving, generosity and hope be ours the whole year, not just the Christmas season.

For Unto US a Savior is Born!

Text: Isaiah 64:1-10

Focus: Our need for The Savior

Function: The gospel message.

Form: Storytelling

Intro:

I love the Messiah by Handel. The way God inspired Handel to weave together all those voices in different parts into such a beautiful harmony with, at 2:26 seconds into it, every thing stops very briefly for the trumpet. And then, in the last chord, if you are singing bass, you get to match the sopranos with this really deep bass note. But right before that, one preacher friend of mine describes it as “the pregnant pause” at the end of the Hallelujah chorus, where for one beat; everyone is silent and then the climax at the end. It is beautiful. The Hallelujah chorus is the most popular piece of the Messiah, but I also love the song, “For Unto Us a Child is Born.” It is a song describing the mystery of God’s plan to come to earth as a baby.

Today, we are going to look at that plan, but I want to change the title of the song that describes the mystery and say: (SHOW) “For unto US a Savior is born.”

Keeping with the theme of music, the scripture this morning is actually a song written by Isaiah. God inspired him to write these words and they are exactly what God intended to be written. But the inspiration of the Scripture is not some sort of automatic writing. The author’s personality, his human condition is also expressed in a genuine way through the writings of the scriptures.

Isaiah is writing this as he is asking God a question. He seems desperate for some help and some wisdom about the future. He is wrestling with his own theology, his own understanding of God. God answers him.

So, he begins this part of the song which actually starts in chapter 63 with a suggestion for God as a possible means to increase God’s popularity.

Imagine that: “God I got an idea for you!”

God’s people have turned their back on God. Isaiah figures that if God just “shows up” then they will believe and repent

He suggests that God demonstrates His power in an awesome way: Fire, Earthquake, Thunder. He wants God to “prove Himself.”

As if!

He doesn’t get an answer from God so: He comes to the conclusion that God will only show up on behalf of good people.

(SHOW) Does God only prove Himself on behalf of good people?

There is a problem with his theology at this point. The people need hope and they figure that God is too angry with them to give aid.

Here is the scripture from the text: (SHOW) “You meet those who happily do what is right, who keep a good memory of the way you work.”

The implication is that God ONLY meets…

This theology is a big part of the book of Job. Job’s friends believed that God couldn’t be “just being God” and allowing this to happen to Job. They have these rules, this set of regulations that God must follow. In that set of rules, only the wicked get punished and only the good are fortunate and prosper.

They have convinced themselves that the spectacular destruction of Job was divine intervention given to prove that he was evil.

So, almost the whole book is them explaining this to Job with the intention of wrestling a confession out of him.

(SHOW) By faith, we believe that the Good (God) will ultimately triumph over evil.

So, to these friends, their conclusions about God seem to make sense. It seems to be fair. People need that to be true to feel secure.

But we also know that the rain and the sun fall on both evil and good people.

And in the song, Isaiah comes around to a more accurate conclusion about God.

(SHOW) But how angry you've been with us! We've sinned and kept at it so long! Is there any hope for us? Can we be saved? We're all sin-infected, sin-contaminated. Our best efforts are grease-stained rags.

This passage is repeated several times in the New Testament.

So, Isaiah concludes that the problem must be that there is not a single righteous person in Jerusalem.

He says, every one of us has gone astray, all of us have sinned.

But then, it seems as if his understanding gets bigger.

He begins to think about the terrible power of God expressed in the first few verses and he comes to an important conclusion: Every one actually is a sinner. All have sinned. Even good people, compared to God’s perfection, even their best deeds and most noble accomplishments pale in contradiction to God’s purity.

In theology we say, it isn’t that God doesn’t want sinners in His presence, but His majesty is so great, sin must flee away.

Job finally experiences this. He is innocent of what his friends have accused him of. But when God finally does answer him, and HE sees God’s glory, he, the innocent man, says that compared to God, he is but a worm.

So here we are: People who are in trouble. And the prophet, God’s messenger is thinking to himself, if only God would pull off one of His mighty stunts to demonstrate His glorious power, things would be set to right.

The prophet thinks that if God does something fantastic, people will be awestruck, repent, and the nation will be saved.

But then he realizes that he too, even though he is the prophet of the only True God is a man full of sin. He points the finger back at himself.

His theology isn’t like Jonathan Edward’s “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

(SHOW) Isaiah never sees God as merely an angry dictator of the celestial highways.

He knows who God really is. He knows that God is the God of mercy and that His mercy always wins out over His judgment.

He knows that He is the kind of God that people can serve and love.

No. Isaiah 55, one of my most favorite passages, (SHOW) “1-2 "Hey there! All who are thirsty, come to the water! Are you penniless? Come anyway—buy and eat! Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk. Buy without money—everything's free!

He has this image of God, opening up His hands and giving it all away.

It’s a Christmas image.

So, Isaiah wants God to show up in a mighty powerful way and save His people.

But he realizes that it isn’t going to happen that way. He is aware of his sin and the sin of his fellow countrymen.

And so, (SHOW) he asks God this question: Can anyone be saved?

Now, let us flash forward 530 or so years to the nativity.

The people of Israel are still holding on to these promises God made through the prophet Isaiah.

And the prophet Daniel comes along 25 to 30 or so years after Isaiah and God also gives him a message and it is very specific. He tells them that in 483 years, God will indeed come again and establish His kingdom.

The Jewish people are holding on to this prophecy and it is fulfilled one lonely night, on a hillside, in a cattle barn, in a little village, with two simple people, a few poor shepherds and a whole chorus of angels.

Remember Isaiah desiring that God would show up with fantastic, majestic, glorious power to prove Himself to people who had abandoned faith in Him?

There are no flashes of lightning, no peals of thunder, no earthquakes or violent winds.

This is a glorious event though, the only time it has ever been reported and probably the only time it has ever occurred in the history of humanity. The Angels make a chorus and they proclaim Jesus birth.

But the fanfare, the “wow stuff” that God did when He brought the nation Israel out of Egypt is missing from the nativity.

Isaiah’s desire for a powerful show is missing from the nativity.

God does come to humanity. But instead of coming in that kind of power and might, He chooses to come as a baby in a manger.

Isaiah loves God and is His witness to a people who have forgotten to worship God anymore.

But Isaiah’s plan for God to reveal Himself in awesome power doesn’t come to pass.

Even at the actual coming of the Savior, the whole event is clouded in relative obscurity.

(SHOW) The only ones who witnessed the “wow stuff” that God can do are a few shepherds, and Joseph and Mary.

Why the contrast? We know from prophecy that Jesus is coming again. We know that then He will flash across the whole earth in a moment and that every eye will see Him.

We know that when that happens, the last trumpet of God will sound out. Everyone will hear it. God is going to do it.

His second coming will be like the one Isaiah hoped the first coming would be.

Why the contrast? Why a baby? Why not show off His awesome might?

Look at the text, I think we see why here (SHOW): ^8-9Still, God, you are our Father. We're the clay and you're our potter: All of us are what you made us. Don't be too angry with us, O God. Don't keep a permanent account of wrongdoing. Keep in mind, please, we are your people—all of us.

God, you are our Father. And, since He is the potter and we are the clay, He is sovereign.

All the way through this poem, the prophet under divine revelation from God pleads the case of humanity’s brokenness.

And He suggests how God could prove Himself.

God hears his prayer, but God answers in a much better way.

(SHOW) God does come. God does show up. But God doesn’t show off.

It is a momentous event. I have a friend who converted from being a minister in the Jehovah Witness’s church to receive Jesus as God, the Savior.

I am not going to bash Jehovah Witnesses here. As a Jehovah Witness, he was a good man. He was well disciplined, hard working and sincere about his faith.

He was like the people that Isaiah first talks about, when Isaiah said, “God only comes to good people.”

There are a lot of ways that Christianity has been mixed with something different than the gospel.

Most of those ways involve a religious system where humanity has to earn their salvation by their own works instead of the mercy of God.

So, upon the leaving of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses and joining the Beech Grove Church of the Brethren, he got to celebrate Christmas for the first time.

At first, he struggled with it because he had been told that it was merely a mutation of the pagan festival of winter solstice and it had its origins in witchcraft. He said: “It isn’t commanded anywhere in the bible.”

Technically he’s right. But, (SHOW) When Jesus comes on the scene, when Jesus comes into a heart; His promise is to re-create everything. When He saves us, He makes us new.

Jesus was making everything new for him. He was leery at first, and as the one who brought Him to believing in Jesus as God the Savior, I pointed to the nativity. I showed him that this indeed was a celebration worthy of a chorus of Angels. As far as we know, it is the only time God has done that. So, since it isn’t commanded not to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and the first Christmas was heralded by a band of angels, our Christmas celebrations, when focused on Jesus are genuine acts of worship.

And the guy responds by directing our Christmas play. He wept for joy at the meaning of the nativity and God’s plan to come to earth as a baby instead of coming in fearful majesty.

This man went through exactly what Isaiah does in this song. He first believed that God was hard, unsympathetic to human sinfulness and brokenness. His believed that God was indeed an angry God. And this man wept for joy when he understood that grace shown in the nativity.

(SHOW) We need a savior. We cannot save ourselves.

The best of us are nothing compared to God.

Isaiah makes it clear: We need salvation.

We need God to come and save us.

We need our hope restored.

And God didn’t come in terror, but He came as a baby. He didn’t want to scare us away!

That last verse: “God you are our Father” is so well illustrated in the nativity. God’s family is expressed. God’s humility is expressed. God’s mercy is expressed. God’s honor and love for humanity is expressed. God’s ability to understand just how hard it is for us to struggle against sin, disappointment, disease and oppression is proven in the nativity.

Isaiah begs for a Savior. And God gives him just what he begs for.

Only, God does it in a way that proves His mercy, love, compassion and willingness to heal and forgive us.

(SHOW) God remembers us. 500 or so years after Isaiah’s song is written, Christ is born!

And He saved us. Do you trust in Him?