November
27, 2016 *Isaiah 2.1-5 Romans 13.11-14 “Back in the Day” Pastor Jacqueline Hines
Can you think back on a time when things were going your way?
You were happy and hopeful and satisfied. Thinking about the good old days can
quickly put an ear-to-ear smile on our faces. Talking about what used to be can
bring a joy that strengthens and inspires us to work with all our heart and all
our strength to make something good happen again and again as often as possible.
Isaiah is one of several prophets of God in the Old Testament.
Prophets were often called seers because they could see things that God saw in
the present, the past and the future and that could easily be missed by others.
Clearly God gives information about the past, present, or future to some and
not to others and never all to any one person. [slide # 1 lens]
Prophets use spiritual tools of meditation, fasting, prayer and
sacrifice that help them to see God’s hope in what some experienced as hopeless
situations. They present God’s guidance in the darkness. They give Godly
insight from the scriptures. [slide # 2 scripture]
There are men and women boys and girls today whose spiritual
gift is to prophecy. We do not talk about them often in the Methodist church,
but there are people in every culture and language that speak for God, that
tell of God’s goodness and guidance and remind us of God’s word, whether we
want to hear it or not.
There are some religious groups and congregations that put the
idea of prophecy so high in importance that they are easily deceived and
devalued. You remember Christian teacher Harold Camping, founder of Family
Radio. He prophesied that Jesus was returning on May 11, 2011. [slide # 3 poster May 11]
One man esteemed Camping so highly that he sold his house and
waited on a mountain for Jesus to take him in the rapture. The prophecy turned
out to be false. This man who apparently trusted Mr. Camping was left homeless
and tried to sue his ministry so he could get a new house.
Allan Lichtman ran for the Maryland senate in 2006. He is a
historian and political science professor
at American University in Washington, DC who has correctly predicted the
winning presidential candidate since 1984. [slide # 4 Alan Lichtman]
Rabbi Johnathan Cahn is the author of the 2012 bestselling book
called The Harbinger. A Messianic Jew,
he suggests that the 9/11 terrorism attack was a divine warning to the United
States. He ties the 9/11 attacks to a section of Isaiah 9, which describes God
vowing to destroy ancient Israel for persistent disobedience towards Him and
ignoring the warnings He has sent them. One such warning was a military attack
on Israel which caused physical damage to the land. Rabbi Cahn asserts that instead
of recognizing God's warning and repenting of its sins,[slide # 5 Rabbi Cahn] Israel defiantly vowed to rebuild using
stronger materials and planting stronger trees. Of course, prophetic criticism
of anyone quickly becomes controversial.
Prophecy is as complicated as our human nature and should be
heard and spoken with great humility, caution, and reservation. If you are a
praying Christian, there will be moments that you look in God’s hands and see
wonderful blessings in store for you. There will also be times as we pray that
we will look into the holy creator’s face and know that God is not pleased with
something we have done or said or plan to do or say. Blessings as well as
warnings are both a big part of a praying Christian’s life.
The prophet Isaiah – speaking for God – listed many wonderful
moments that God had in store for the nation. In verse 2 [slide # 6 verse 2] they were to look forward to God’s place of
worship being high like a mountain in the eyes of the world. The house of God
would be a place, where people all around the world would stand in line,
patiently waiting to come and worship. [slide # 7 hands raised praising] Seems like everybody everywhere would find a
seat in a Sabbath morning class and a weekday study of scripture, seeking to be
instructed by the Lord. People would prayerfully seek God’s wise judgments,
knowing they truly made a difference in their lives. [slide # 8 verse 2 all the
nations…]
Perhaps the most pleasant verse of all is verse 4 where Isaiah
speaking for God says that the people of our nation – the nation of the people
of God would beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any
more. [slide # 9 verse 4 no more study war]
We can all look at one time and perhaps several seasons that we
call, “back in the day” where we can remember there was peace, and rest, and
good times. Where it seemed everybody who was anybody would be an active member
of some church and Sunday classrooms and evening services were packed with wall
to wall worshippers.
We can always look back and see how greatly God has blessed us.
At the same time we can look around and see how greatly God is blessing us
today. And, if we are not satisfied, we need to talk to God about it and be
prepared to follow directions until God’s word is fulfilled. [slide # 10 All about Him]
The Holy Spirit encourages us to look back only long enough to
get the courage and hope we need to keep us moving forward. [slide # 11 sideview of
mirror] So often I hear members saying they remember when Sunday School
classes were bursting at the seams, so much so that an entire education wing
was built. Not everybody was in favor of it, but it was built and paid for
anyway. And now we cannot imagine life without an education wing. We will even
host our Central District’s Tools for Ministry workshop in the spring because
we have been blessed with that space.
It is a blessing to have our new space to meet and study and
facilities that enable everyone with various capabilities to enter and worship.
We are grateful for an elevator and ramp and welcoming entrance. We can also
recall that not long ago the entrances were blocked while we were under
construction. God has favored us with building and maintaining what we build.
We are very grateful for our Board of Trustees at Bethel. They are here often
two or three times in the week, caring, digging, inspecting , and testing
anything and everything as needed to keep God’s house in order.
During the Bazaar November 12th, we had a close call
with our underground drainage. We were so blessed with our Trustees who
attended to the matter quickly and fervently, but we could also see God’s hand
blessing us every hour as we texted, and phoned and emailed, and met together
to fix the problem. God remained our help in that time of trouble.
We remember every day that we are praying for more than the
important needs of our building. We are praying about programs like VBS,
Christian Education, and junior church because they too are either “under construction”
or need regular maintenance, and they too are very important in the life of our
church. We are blessed with Godly missions like UMW adopting a child from a
part of the world that does not have half as much as we have. We are listening carefully
as God calls us to make soup for missions, and to work in the food pantry or serve
at the Wednesday Community dinners.
Whether near of far, there are needs to which God is calling us
to respond. God is guiding us to serve, and God is giving us a preview through the
mouth of one prophet or another who is predicting whether we will enjoy
beautiful blessings or bitter consequences.
In the Christian calendar, we have set aside four Sundays to
prepare spiritually to receive our King in new ways. We have heard that he is
coming into our lives in new beginnings and fresh starts. We have heard this from
prophets, from the scriptures, and those who dare to share their testimonies in
worship or coffee hour or wherever. We have lit the first candle of Advent –
the candle of hope, for we have high hopes that we will be saved from our sins
and the sins of others, too. [Slide # 12 hope Advent Candle]
Prophets - whether out of the mouths of babes or weird voices in
a wilderness have been preparing us for thousands of years. Herod the Great was
the king who ruled over Judea where Jesus was born. He heard God’s people
talking about the prophecy of Isaiah in the 6th chapter which says -
For unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no
end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to
establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The
zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Herod the Great received the prophecies as truth to be taken as
seriously as God’s people took it. He knew Jesus was coming to rule the world,
but Herod was threatened by this. He was jealous and that inspired him to be
cruel, cold, and a calculated murderer. Herod the Great was so power hungry and
blood thirsty that he had some of his own sons and wives killed. Prophecies of
the coming of a king as great as Jesus drove him to order the death of children
born during the time Jesus was predicted to be born.
Herod the Great died before Jesus was born, but 30 years later,
Herod Antipas participated in the condemnation and crucifixion of Jesus. Those
were terrible days. Yet, even in terrible days, God is good all the time. God
rules and reigns and provides blessings that bring comfort and joy, that is, to
those who want God’s comfort and joy. [slide # 13 Jesus bringing comfort]
So we begin this advent season by reaching back in the day to a
hymn written in the 16th century to inspire hope in tough times.
God rest ye merry, Christians
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy. So it may be for each of us, no matter what
joys, sorrows, or troubles come our way, may we always hope and wait to hear
God’s tidings of comfort and joy. Amen. [slide # 14 comfort and joy]
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