Sermons

Last week I began a study in the book of James…a five-chapter book that has been considered a practical commentary on the Sermon on the Mount because it doesn’t offer a plan of salvation but rather is focused more on those who are already a member of God’s family.

This book is encouraging God’s people to act like God’s people…Christians evidence their faith by how they conduct themselves…if those who call themselves God’s people truly belong to Jesus their lives will produce the results of a life lived like a Christian.

Throughout the entire book of James he reveals those traits that should be evident in the life of someone who identifies themselves as being a Christian.

That is the reason this epistle is valuable for both unbelievers as well as believers, especially for those who consider themselves to be Christians.

James’s purpose throughout this epistle is for professed Christians to test their faith to find out whether it is genuine or false.

James’s letter gets right to the heart of our everyday problems…something I began preaching on last week and I want to finish that thought.

2 Consider it all joy, my brothers when you encounter various trials

WHY TRIALS? – Because God’s ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort, but character development…life is a test…you are always being tested…words like trials, temptations, refining, and testing occur more than 200 times in the Bible…. As a Christian your character is both developed and revealed by tests.

These trials come as a result of a number of reasons…something I want to continue talking about this week because of its importance.

As Christians are we prepared—and willing—to be used by God?…that’s where most of us turn back because we fail to look for the reason for our difficulties.

It is these issues that have the power to afflict the mind and soul…intense prolonged suffering can bring a believer to the point of despair, filled with protest and hate. That’s why Peter gives us the appropriate reaction to suffering: [1 Pet. 4:12]

Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you…[13] but rejoice

Last week we identified the root causes of trials and tribulations…
Chastisement…Character development…Suffer for Christ…Common to man…Natural disasters…Thoughtless behavior…Self-sufficiency.

Just for a moment I want to highlight three of those 7 reasons again because there is a lot of confusion among Christians about how we’re supposed to deal with suffering.

One part of being tested has to do with the self-sufficient person…the person who doesn’t need God’s help…the “I’ve arrived and can now make it on my own” person… “thanks God I can take it from here”.

There should never come a time in our life where we can say to God…I am now self-reliant …because in reality…we are never self-reliant.

That’s the temptation from Satan…it’s a deceptive and tempting approach to life that doesn’t work…the self-sufficient person doesn’t need God…that’s what’s wrong with us as individuals…America…and the world.

–If you are not right with God…you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself.

–As long as you are self-sufficient you will never feel the need to ask God for anything.

As Christians we need to come to grips with the reality that what happens in our life is not the result of God punishing us.

GOD DOES NOT PUNISH PEOPLE…no such thing as ‘I didn’t give last week so God caused my water heater to go out’ or ‘I missed church so God caused my car to break down.’ God does not work that way.

Purpose Driven Life – Problems are not punishments. God has a purpose behind every problem…problems are significant in God’s growth process for you…they do not occur without God’s permission.

God corrects His children so we can grow in our spiritual maturity…not as punishment.

That’s why it’s important to know how God works in the lives of Christians when it comes to how He deals with us in our everyday lives.

That His primary intent is not to cause bad things to happen in our lives as punishment…but He does correct us and through that correction helps us see the error of our ways…it’s called chastisement.

Chastisement…Christians at times create their own problems…God’s chastisement or correction comes when we act on our own impulses rather than seeking God’s direction and purpose in our lives.

Problems will come between God and us as a result…God will step in…For whom the Lord loves He corrects [Proverbs 3:12].

Character development…when you receive Christ as your Savior, God began to work in your heart and in your life until He burns up all the worldly things that keep us separated from Him…the Biblical term is sanctification…God guiding us to maturity.

The difficulties we face in life can trip us up and tempt us into doubt and despair.

Peter…wanting to instruct us on the benefits of trials and troubles tells us [1 Pet. 1:6-7] that those are the very reasons we are to rejoice:

6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes…may result in praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

The ‘That’ in [v.7] points to the purpose of the various trials of [v 6] …that our faith might be tested or refined…Peter is encouraging us to rejoice because
We are being prepared for glory by the things that we suffer in this temporal and passing life…that’s a summary of the sermon.

Need to be clear that there is such a thing as false faith…the Parable of the Sower reveals people whose faith was not grounded in solid acceptance of Jesus as Savior, then when affliction came because their faith was only in ‘What’s in it for me’…they fell away.

That type of faith will fail when needed the most…but worse…it will lead people to think they are Christians headed for heaven when in reality they are headed for eternal separation from God.

In [1 Peter 1:6] Peter teaches 5 Characteristics of Trials
1) Trials are temporary (“now for a little while”) [6].

We need to view earthly trials as Paul puts is…as ‘light affliction, which is but for a moment’ …which is not done to cause us harm or as punishment but to remind us of the eternal glory awaiting us …any suffering in this life does feel unbearable…BUT is far outweighed by the glory of the life to come.

2) Trials are necessary (“if need be”) (6).

What is there in our life that makes these trials ‘necessary’?

Peter is teaching that it is the sovereign will of God that governs all the distresses that happen to us…that God in His infinite wisdom knows exactly the kind of trials necessary to stimulate our spiritual growth for our own spiritual health.

In Paul’s case it was necessary that he was given a “thorn in the flesh” and, though he did not enjoy it, God assured him it was the necessary to stunt the growth of his cancerous pride, lest he become useless to God.

God refused to heal Paul…in the movie “The Chosen” there’s a scene where one of the Apostles is disabled…it’s not factual…but it does prove a point…Jesus refuses to heal him because by having him remain disabled Jesus says he will perform a greater good.

It is not always God’s will to heal a person…we need to cast off the erroneous idea that God heals everyone…someone may sincerely pray…the Church might sincerely pray…they may have all the faith that God can heal…but…just because you pray for someone to be healed doesn’t mean it will happen…if it’s not God’s will to heal…then no healing will come.

If it were always God’s will for people to be healed then everyone would be healed every time they became ill…if good health was always God’s will then Christians would never die…it’s important to know…sometimes God uses illness to accomplish His will…as cruel as that sounds.

Should we pray for the sick…[James 5:15] YES…Scripture says we should because you don’t know what God’s will is…that’s why we pray asking that God’s will be done…BUT…will they always be healed?… NO they won’t.

When we pray ‘your will be done’ we are acknowledging God’s right to rule… that’s what we’re saying… ‘God I’m trusting you to do what’s best’ …it’s a statement of submission…we are asking for our will to be conformed to His.

Does God heal today?…YES He can and YES He does…the question we need to ask in any given situation is… ‘What does God want?’ …and that’s the difficult part because it’s not always what we want.

Christians have an over-simplified idea of healing…they think that if they are sick they have only to ask God to heal them and because God loves them He will immediately heal them…NO He won’t.

Often times God has another plan other than healing someone…it is through the difficulties of this life that God may show His glory through weakness.

Trials are necessary for our growth and sometimes that includes sickness.

3) Trials are distressing (“you have been grieved”). Trials afflict us in two ways.

FIRST…our bodies…both Job and Paul are extreme examples of this…in Job’s case he lost all of his livestock …his servants and all his children were killed…he had sores covering his entire body…Bible says he would sit scraping his skin trying to find relief.

Paul was given a ‘thorn in the flesh,’ an ailment that troubled him throughout the rest of his life.

SECONDLY…At times trials are mentally distressing…there is no pretending here…Peter knew his readers were “grieved” …this word does not refer to the suffering itself, but to the mental effects of suffering, which many times is worse than what can be identified bodily.

4) Trials are diverse (“various trials”)

Although trials do test our faith and prove the genuineness of our faith here it is referring more with the purification through the trial rather than an examination to see if faith is present.

We receive these trials with joy because this testing produces the perfection of character which is building into our lives passion…perseverance…and a deeper character change that ultimately is providing the fuel we need to get to our destination.

5) Trials refine us (“though it is tested by fire”).

God’s purpose in suffering is to prove the reality of our faith in a way similar to the process of purifying metals, our faith being more precious than gold itself.

Trials are sent from God as a gift for His good…His glory…to encourage others …for building others up…as a witness to others …and especially for your benefit. That’s why Peter says in [v6] “In this you greatly rejoice” as you see how God’s going to use that trouble for His glory and for your benefit.

To fully understand how exciting that rejoicing is we need to back up to verse 3 where Peter gives the reasons for rejoicing…it is in God’s promises to us and in His commitment to keep it.

Verse 3: by His great mercy He has given us new birth…through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
Verse 4: God is keeping an inheritance for us in heaven which is imperishable and will not fade away.
Verse 5: God is keeping us for that inheritance.

Then in verse 12 James give the reward:

Blessed is the man who endures…for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

James echoes the thought begun in [v.2] where he called on believers to categorize difficult times as joyful times…because our faith only grows stronger when tested by trials.

Trusting God in the midst of our everyday trials and difficulties brings His blessings…our circumstances may be hard but we have the promise that when we trust God during those difficult times…we will receive the ‘crown of life.’

Something we fail to recognize is that God rewards us here on earth…we get so caught up and focused on the rewards and promises of Heaven that we overlook the blessings He gives us while still on earth.

The blessings gained through trials are not only for the distant future but also for the here and now…when we embrace problems and truly search for the reason we are experiencing them…we then see the opportunities for personal growth and spiritual enrichment they can produce in us on earth.

Those who trust in God during hardships will receive ‘the crown of life’ as a reward given in eternity for Christians who refused to stop trusting God even when experiencing trials on earth.

BUT…it may also include the promise of a more abundant life here on earth which is in agreement with what Jesus said [John 10:10] I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly.

When we learn to submit our will to the will of God even in the midst of our sufferings, we will learn to say with Job, “When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).

Trials are temporary (“now for a little while”).
Trials are necessary (“if need be”)
Trials are distressing (“you have been grieved”).
Trials are diverse (“various trials”). Trials come in all shapes and sizes.
Trials refine us (“though it is tested by fire”). God’s purpose in suffering is so — the works of God might be displayed [John 9:3].

As we continue on into the book of James we need to be mindful of the importance of what James has stated in his opening statement…the ‘why’ of trials…least we think that God has somehow been unfair with us…ever heard that?… ‘God you’re just unfair.’

If you really desire a God who’s fair here’s what that means…everyone would receive exactly what they have coming to them…eternal separation from God… the wage each one of us would receive if God were fair is death.

Praise God that He’s not fair and doesn’t give us what we deserve…BUT… because He is concerned and focused on our eternal destiny He…sends…allows …and permits trials…troubles…tribulations…and suffering in our lives to refine us to prove the genuineness of our faith…with the result being “praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

For the next few weeks, I would like for us to look at the Epistle of James.

What’s interesting about the person who wrote this epistle is that, contrary to what our Catholic brothers and sisters believe, that Mary remained a virgin throughout her life…the Bible disputes that…James is the half-brother of Jesus.

46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd…47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to you.” [Matt. 12:46-47]

Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? [Matt. 13:55]

And if you’re familiar with Bible history then you know that Jesus’ other half-brother Judas wrote the epistle of Jude…I guess not wanting to be prideful neither James not Jude in their writing claimed a family relationship with Jesus.

A lesson to be learned here…both James and Jude lived in the same household with Jesus growing up…in addition…John the Baptist was their cousin…don’t think there were some deep theological discussions between those two.

But despite that…neither James nor Jude believed in Jesus as the divine Son of God during Jesus’ time on earth [John 7:2-5].

Just speculating but wonder how many times Mary must have told them… ‘Why can’t you boys be more like your brother Jesus’…maybe why they were so calloused against Jesus…Smothers Brothers complex.

It was only after Jesus’ death and resurrection that they made the decision to believe in Him as their Savior.

I just want to do a side bar on that thought real quick…this is clearly an indication that just because a child is raised in a Christian home doesn’t mean they will grow up believing in Jesus as their Savior.

Both James and Jude grew up alongside God Himself but had no desire to believe in His divinity.

This goes along with the same idea about raising your children in a Christian home and then having them depart from the faith when they get older…I’m sure we all know of children raised in a Christian home who later in life departed from the faith.

BUT…no shortage of people who will tell you that you’re wrong because the Bible says just the opposite.

Train up a child in the way he should go; Even when he is old he will not depart from it [Prov. 22:6].

How many have heard or used that verse?…There are a number of Bible verses that are misquoted and misrepresented…Romans 8:28 / Jer. 20:11…are two of my favorite misquotes…this is just one more.

There have been far too many parents who have beat themselves up because their child has strayed from the faith believing they have somehow failed them.

I’m sure at some time Mary must have thought…how can these two boys be so obstinate about who Jesus is?

At first glance this Proverb sounds like a wonderful promise…people often use this verse as a guarantee that if you raise your child… ‘in the discipline and instruction of the Lord’ [Eph. 6:4] as the Bible says…they will always stay on the right path.

Proverbs 22:6 is NOT a guarantee that that will happen…but can mean a couple things:

FIRST…to ‘train up’ implies the way which a child is to spend their life…the occupation they are to follow…it is necessary to prepare a child for entrance into adulthood…that is achieved in their early years because those traits will influence their conduct in adulthood.

SECONDLY…every person is given the freedom to choose when they will submit to God’s way of life or to go a different direction…that decision is not the result of a parent’s upbringing but the individual choosing of the child to recognize the prodding and conviction of the Holy Spirit in their life.

If the promise of God was a guarantee that children reared rightly by godly parents would result in their child becoming a Christian, this would strip those children of their freedom to choose…free will is given by God to everyone.

THIRDLY…the book of Proverbs is NOT a book of promises…a proverb is a literary device whereby a general truth is brought to light on a specific situation. Proverbs are not absolute promises or guarantees.

In addition, the word ‘should’ does not appear in the original Hebrew…causing some of the misunderstanding regarding this proverb…therefore…it’s more of a warning about allowing your child to go their own way…so the literal reading of Proverbs 22:6 reads:

Initiate a child on his path; even when he is old, he will not depart from it.

The importance of that is because the Bible says ‘There is a way which seems right to a man’ ]Prov. 14:12] …that way is usually a foolish way…if I allow my child to follow the ‘way that seems right’ to them…to have their own way…I may have a hard time getting them off that path when they are older.

Therefore…Provers 22:6 is not a promise that raising your child in a Christian home will guarantee they will remain in the faith…rather…this proverb can be seen more as an encouragement or warning to parents.

Back to James…this book has been compared with the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, particularly the book of Proverbs because it’s essentially a five-chapter statement on daily Christian living.

James’s purpose throughout this epistle is for professed Christians to test their faith to find out whether it is genuine or false.

Many scholars believe that James was influenced by the Sermon on the Mount because the language and themes sound similar…as a result…some have viewed James’s epistle as a practical commentary on that sermon.

Because James’s emphasis is on those who are already in God’s family both the Sermon on the Mount and James’s writing do not present the way of salvation but are more focused on righteous living for those who are in God’s family… condemning the hypocritical believer who says one thing but lives another.

This book is encouraging God’s people to act like God’s people…Christians evidence their faith by how they conduct themselves…if those who call themselves God’s people truly belong to Jesus their lives will produce the results of a life lived like a Christian.

James identifies himself as merely a servant of God and of the Lord…

VERSE 1 – “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Greek word for servant means someone who belongs to another but not in the sense of a slave as we think of one…a slave here was someone who willingly lives under Christ’s authority.

Paul opens almost all of his letters with encouraging words calling the readers… ‘beloved of God’ … ‘saints’ …or asking God to grant grace and peace to them… BUT…in James’s letter he gets right to the heart of our everyday problems… trials…troubles…testing…or tribulations.

He draws attention to the power that suffering has to afflict the mind and soul …and the blessing that accompanies them when viewed in the proper perspective.

2 Consider it all joy, my brothers when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

VERSE 2 – 3. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

FIRST – “Consider it joy”. –WHY? …What is even remotely joyful about trails…troubles…testing…or tribulations…isn’t joy something we experience as the result of good things…not when bad things happen in our lives?

James is saying that joy should be paired with the good times and the bad…as Christians we can rejoice when things are less than joyful and when things are progressing smoothly…why…2 reasons:

FIRST…Because Jesus established the pattern for us to live by…for the joy set before Him endured the cross [Heb. 12:2].

SECONDLY…because we can trust that God will use them to accomplish His purpose…it will turn out for His good.

Not as the Living Bible translates Romans 8:28. “And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good” …another mistranslated verse.

Romans 8:28 means that all things are working together just as God planned them…and that His plans will not be thwarted…He knows the future…His desires will be accomplished even when things seem chaotic and out of control…He is still in charge.

The promise is that even during less than joyful times when you encounter various trials we can trust that God will use those trials to accomplish His purpose.

That is the reason this epistle is valuable for both unbelievers as well as believers—especially for unbelievers who consider themselves to be Christians.

Faith that is reliable only when things are going well is not faith and it’s worth nothing.

That type of faith will fail when needed the most…but worse…it will lead people to think they are Christians headed for heaven when, in reality, they are headed for hell…trials…and tribulations come from a number of reasons:

1) Chastisement…2) Character development…3) Suffer for Christ…4) Common to man…5) Natural disasters…6) Thoughtless behavior.

As Christians, at times we create our own problems…something unbelievers don’t have to worry about…because for us…problems arise in our life when we cease to obey God.

1) God’s chastisement or correction comes when we try to usurp the authority of the Holy Spirit for our own purpose…you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies [1 Cor. 6:20]…you no longer own your destiny. You may out of disobedience control it…but you are owned by God.

When we are acting on our own impulse or out of a sense of heroic to be seen by others…problems will come between God and us and as a result of disobedience God will step in…For whom the Lord loves He corrects [Proverbs 3:12].

2) Character development…when you receive Christ as your Savior, God begins to work in you…it’s called character development…God has to build your Christian character.

Here’s how this works…God begins to work in your heart and in your life until He burns all the chaff out of our lives…all the worldly things that keep us separated from Him…the Biblical term is sanctification…God guiding us to maturity.

When faced with troubles often times God uses those difficulties to produce growth in us…because He wants to see His character reflected in us rather than the world.

Far too often when faced with troubles our response is…bewilderment…asking ‘God what’s wrong’ …instead of asking ‘God what are you trying to tell me to teach me…want me to confess’.

3) Suffering for Christ…Troubles that Christians suffer (and there will be many) come in two ways:

FIRST…as a result of being obedient to God: “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” [2 Tim:12].

That should actually increase my joy because I know that God is aware of them…joy comes when we watch and anticipate how God will work though that difficulty.

Trouble comes as the result of chastisement OR as the result of being obedient. The trouble that comes from being obedient brings joy knowing that God is using that for our character development.

SECONDLY…One of the less attractive promises that Scripture gives believers is that those who are faithful can be certain of being under pressure from Satan… and the present world system that is controlled by Satan.

Again our joy comes from knowing that persecution brings God’s blessings [Matt 5:10 – 12] …Christians have no reason to despair in this life…no matter how great their suffering or how hopeless the situation…WHY? [Rom. 8:18]

For I consider that the suffering of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us”

4) There are those troubles [tribulations] that are common to all mankind. James is not revealing anything new that people in general don’t already know.

In life we can expect…delayed promises…impossible problems…unanswered prayers, doubts…fears…senseless tragedies…criticism… disappointments … emotional pain…troubles in our job…at school…with family and even in our church….did I miss anything?

It’s the common pain, hardship, diseases, and conflicts that are inflicted upon all of mankind because of sin’s corruption of the world.

If you haven’t experienced any of these emotions yet—it’s because you haven’t lived long enough.

5) Then there are the troubles that are a result of natural disasters…not acts of God as some insurance companies would suggest…but are the result of living in a sinful world that has been cursed because of the sin of Adam.

Everyone who lives in this world endures some measure of trouble—that is the consequence of the fall…we live in a world and a society corrupted by sin… and just like with creation will continue to suffer waiting to be set free from sin’s bondage.

And all these trials…troubles…tribulations…and suffering is for a reason.

Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. (1:2-3)

Challenging times reveal our character…God uses those challenging times to test our faith and develop spiritual maturity…in addition to proving our faith and obedience.

As we go through times of trials and testing, we develop patient endurance…this Scripture encourages us to shift our focus from our discomfort and suffering to the benefits of perseverance.

Paul reaffirms that…we glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance [Rom. 5:3].

Peter also concurs…In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials [1 Peter 1:6].

Even Luke chimes in…It is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God [Acts 14:22].

Isn’t it amazing how all the writers of the New Testament all agree with each other?

No matter what the status of a believer is, it is imperative that we are rooted and grounded in Christ and not be reliant on our own bank-balance…influence… education…or position.

The difficulties we face in life can trip us up and tempt us into doubt and despair that it is God that has given us everything we need for life and godliness and that IN Christ we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing.

Last week…shared two qualities that should be our attitude towards God.

FIRST…God’s Holiness is without Equal
The very definition of holiness means God is not at all like us…not in any way…He is completely apart and entirely different than you and me.

SECONDLY…God’s Holiness Demands Reverence
You cannot have an encounter with God and stay the same…when He truly touches you, you are changed – spirit, soul, and body.

Both the Old and New Testaments speak more about God’s holiness than any other attribute… ‘holy’ and ‘holiness’ occur more than 900 times in Scripture.

Why the emphasis on holiness?…because God holds the world accountable to reverence Him even before we have heard about who He is…not knowing who God is is not an excuse…Paul makes that more than plain in Romans 1:

that which is known about God is evident…because God made it evident to them …for since the creation of the world…His invisible attributes…His eternal power…divine nature…have been clearly seen…so they are without excuse. Rom 1:19-20

God has both outlined how we can know Him and… what the consequences are when we don’t…He has set a day in which He will judge the world [Rom. 1:30].

Before we can fully understand God’s holiness…we must first understand something about how God at one time saw every person in this room.

Before we were Christians…God saw us in a completely different way than He sees us now…He saw us as: condemned (Jn. 3:18) …lost (Mt. 18:11; 2 Cor. 4:3) … guilty (Rom. 3:19)…spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1-5)…alienated from Him (Eph. 4:18)…as His enemies (Rom. 5:10; Col. 1:21)…as children of wrath (Eph. 2:3).

Here’s the KEY in how God sees us…the extent to which one is holy is determined by their likeness to the One True God…people say ‘Well I’m pretty holy’. How holy are you when comparted to God?…Holiness is determined by your likeness to God.

Holiness means not only being separated from sin and worldliness, but it also includes being set apart for God’s purpose.

This morning I want to share with you three more qualities that should be our attitude towards God.

God’s Holiness Demands Caution
God’s Holiness Demands Separation from the World
God’s Holiness Demands that we be Holy.

God’s Holiness Demands Caution

What do you think that means? …goes back to showing reverence….it is one of the concepts about God that we have lost in the church today…the unparalleled… unprecedented…holy character of God.

Throughout the Old Testament we find numerous instances where approaching God in a less than reverent manner…or…failing to display reverence for His Word was hazardous to one’s health…more specifically…God killed people for it.

There’s a movement that is prevalent in churches today…where there is a growing desire to get away from traditional church and church service…where the goal is to remove the “stained-glass barriers” so people who might not be comfortable in traditional church settings feel more at ease.

Is there anything wrong with that?…NO…in fact…in our efforts to plant churches Southern Baptists are forming churches in nontraditional spaces…worshipping in vacated shopping malls…theaters…schools…and abandoned warehouses.

BUT…here is the problem with that…along with the desire to “not look like a Church” also comes the idea that they can “experience church their way”.

Along with the desire to have a building that looks less than church-like…it invites the tendency to make church more appealing to the world…so the lost don’t feel so uncomfortable when they’re in church.

I’ve mentioned it before…the church in America is in decline…it is suggested that the decline we’re seeing in the church is directly related to the casual “Worship” model of doing church.

It’s the “come as you are” attitude where a semi-Christian life is promoted…and where you can enjoy a short inspiring message that is relevant for your life whether you believe in Jesus or not because the emphasis is on being comforted rather than being challenged.

It’s where we won’t ask anything of you…no commitment is required…and we won’t expect anything from you.

Our churches are full of these people…BUT…it’s not completely all people’s fault …casual followers are the result of casual churches and casual Pastors.

When Church worship fails to stress the importance of being Christ like…in our thoughts …our actions…our speech…we become casual in our approach to God.

How does the church move from being a church of “Casual Christians” to being a church of “Committed Christians”? …It begins by becoming committed followers of Jesus Christ…committing to God’s Word as a guide…living out His Word in all areas of our lives…and being cautious not to approach God in a less than reverent manner.

God’s Holiness Demands Separation from the World.

It should suffice to say that God expects us to be in alignment with His likeness and His divine character as much as it is possible.

God does not command us to be gods…but He does command a likeness to His holy nature as far as human limitations will allow…that requires us to be willing to separate ourselves from those who would desire to impose their will on us.

Holiness and separation from the world are vital components, part of a deeper experience with God…after our initial salvation experience of forgiveness of sin by faith in Jesus…it is God’s plan that we then go into a deeper fellowship and experience with Him…said it before…need to take Jesus out of the manger.

It is so easy to conform to the world…and to what others believe you ought to be…for example…the controversy that is occurring in this country with respect to young people and the sexual orientation issue.
https://www.choosingtherapy.com/types-of-sexuality/

I’m not going into details regarding the challenges that accompany the sexual orientation issue because there are at least 25 different types of gender identity and sexual orientation…most of which I’m not qualified to speak about.

BUT…with regards to what people think…or believe about you…it’s just human nature to care about what other people think about you…But when caring what other people think about you is holding you back from achieving your personal goals, it’s time to reassess your connection with them.

In fact,…it’s been said that super successful people do not worry what their critics have to say about them…good or bad.

With respect to being a Christian…that means presenting yourself to God without pretense…without conditions…or excuses.

Presenting ourselves to God means being honest with God.

We will never develop the fellowship with God that we long for…or that God longs to have with Him…until we stop trying to get where WE want to go…or doing what others think we need to do…God’s holiness demands separation from the world…it means:

Stop trying to be who someone thinks you should be.
Stop trying to behave the way someone thinks you should behave.
Stop trying to live by someone’s set of established standards.
Stop thinking and behaving according to what someone thinks is best…or right for you.

Worry about your character and not what people think of you…because your character is who you are. Your acceptance to people is based only on what people think of you.

This goes back to Rick Warren’s…Purpose Driven Life…the third purpose for your life is…You were made for a mission.

For many Christians that means…stop running away from God…stand before God exactly as you are…present yourself to God just as you are neither giving excuses nor defending yourself…with no pretense…no conditions…not attempting to work your way back to God… realizing I am outside of God’s will for my life….that is how we are to come to God …that is the way that delights Him.

If we are going to be serious about our fellowship with God…we need to be like Paul:
My determined purpose is that I may know Him – That I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted
with Him…” [Phil. 3:10]

That can only occur as we separate ourselves from the world and be in complete fellowship with no pretenses.

God’s Holiness Demands that we be Holy.

How can we become holy? Personal holiness is a work of gradual development.

Holiness only results from a right relationship with God by believing in Jesus as Savior and trusting Him as Lord over your life.

If we have not placed that kind of faith in God’s Son, then our pursuit of holiness is in vain.

We must first recognize that our position in Christ automatically sets us apart from the world (1 Peter 2:9)…we must daily live a life that is set apart from the world… not trying to “blend in” with the world.

Living a “full life” isn’t having bodily health…or having wealth…it’s not in feelings or experiences, but instead living according to the plan and the purpose that God desires for each one of us…in a knowledge and understanding of God…that is the same fellowship and oneness that Jesus enjoyed with God.

Are we then holy? …NO…but God does see us as righteous…as a result…your life…your behavior…your actions…your attitudes…the way you live your life… will confirm to you that you know the Lord.

When I know the Lord…I don’t act toward my spouse the way I used to…I don’t go where I used to go…I don’t talk the way I use to talk…I stop looking at things that makes me feel guilty…I don’t use addictive substances…the power of sin is broken in me….and I’m changing day by day…every day…that’s what knowing the Lord does.

When we allow God to reveal Himself to us thru His word…all other images of Jesus that we have perceived about Him…or people we have compared Him with …or concepts we have drawn conclusions on based on past experiences…will be erased.

When we see God working in our lives…it surpasses anything we could have even remotely expected from any person…any situation…or any circumstance…or anything we will ever experience in this life.

How do you see Jesus? …when we are earnest about our relationship with God we will see Him as a picture of holiness …we will then be like Job… “but now my eyes have seen You.”

SO…is it important how we see Jesus?…YES it is…BUT…just as important is how does Jesus see us…when Jesus looks at people He see us in only one of two ways… He either sees a reflection of Himself…or He sees someone who is condemned to eternal separation from Him.

God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent Me to you. “God also said to Moses, “say this to the Israelites: Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.” (Exod. 3:14–15)

What comes to mind when you think about God? A question I asked last week, and I would like to continue on with that same theme…NOT asking do you believe in God… but what do you think about God?…most of us have a range of different ideas that come to mind when we think about God.

What comes to mind when you think about God says a lot about your knowledge… or lack of knowledge about who God is…your relationship with Him…your obedience to Him…how you deal with other people…it shapes our worship…our identity…and our ethics.

SO…Collectively we are shaped by our view of God in more ways than we know.

When we have wrong ideas about God…that is the starting point from where things are believed about God as if they were true.

When people share with you their unbiblical ideas about who they think God is and because we lack a true Biblical knowledge about who God is ourselves…that results in confusion and uncertainty in our lives about God.

When there is even the simplest corrupting of basic theology it results in perverted notions about God that soon pollute the very concepts about who God is.

There is no description in the Bible which fully explains what God is like…we cannot see Him …we cannot prove He exists…BUT…the Bible does gives us a glimpse of Him and tells us about some of His characteristics.

When we take the Bible’s view of ‘What is God like?” …not someone else’s opinion…it is clear that there is an all-powerful God who created all things including man and who desires to be known by His creation. [Ps. 46:10] Who wants to have a relationship with us and to know Him based on what has been written about Him in His Word [2 Tim. 3:16-17] …problem is people don’t want to have a relationship with Him.

So…what does God tell us about Himself?…mentioned this last week…in Hebrew the name God used to describe Himself is elōhîm (אֱלֹהִ֑ים) it defines who God is.

It’s important to know that elōhîm (אֱלֹהִ֑ים) is not God’s name…it’s a description of Himself…in English the ‘im’ ending denotes that it is a masculine plural noun… meaning God is more than one.

That goes against everything we’ve been taught about God…because even the Bible says ‘God is one’ [James 2:19 / 1 Tim. 2:5 / Deut. 6:4] ]…but the name elōhîm indicates that God is more than one God.

In Genesis 1:1 the verb ((a Qual Perfect 3rd person masculine singular)) telling us what God did…is the key in understanding who God is…it’s revealed in the opening three words of Genesis…bə-rê-šîṯ…bā-rā ’ĕ-lō-hîm—בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים–In the beginning God created.

He created heaven and earth…the word created (בָּרָ֣א) is singular…in every instance when God calls Himself elōhîm that name is associated with a singular masculine verb indicating that God is singular in nature…just as the Bible says:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one [Deut. 6:4]

That is the key in understanding and knowing who God is…the ‘im’ ending in the word elōhîm gives you a misunderstanding of who God is…but the verb identifies God as being one.

Yet because the name of God is a plural noun it is emphasizing that God consists in three Persons…the Father…Son…and Holy Spirit [Matt. 28:21].

So from the very first verse of the Bible, we are told a single creator God exists… but He exists in more than one dimension…when you look at the wording in the Hebrew it is clearly describing His triune nature.

Then there’s the personal name that God introduced Himself to both Abraham [Gen. 15:7] and Moses [Ex. 3:15] …in Hebrew and English is spelled with just four letters YHWH consisting of four Hebrew consonants …Yod, Heh, Waw, Heh (יְהוָֹה).

In English those four letters are most often pronounced as Yahweh…that is only a guess because not even the Jews know the correct pronunciation of God’s personal name. https://bffbible.org/old-testament/view/translation-name-yahweh

The reason they do not even attempt to pronounce this word is because this is the personal name of God… many orthodox Jews refuse to pronounce it fearing saying it would violate the third Commandment by taking the Lord’s name in vain.

BUT clearly…God told Moses… This is My name forever; this is how I am to be remembered (Exod. 3:14–15) …and again in [Isaiah 42:8] God says, I am Yahweh, that is my name.

So why don’t we see the name Yahweh in the Bible even though it is written almost 7000 times in the Hebrew Scriptures?…because translators have replaced God’s personal name with His title of LORD…that’s wrong.

As a side note…God’s personal name is not Jehovah…there is no letter ‘J’ in the Hebrew alphabet…in the 1500’s Yahweh was latinized…the ‘Y’ and ‘W’ were changed to ‘J’ and ‘V’ resulting in a mispronunciation…even Christian scholars want to pronounce God’s personal name as Jehovah…that’s wrong.

Those of us who speak English don’t really understand the sense in which names in the Bible carry meaning…people’s names in the Old Testament had a kind of significance that was supposed to represent in one form or another the character of the person…Hence the importance of the name Yahweh.

The name Yahweh is closely related to what God told Moses His name was when Moses asked…’who shall I say sent me’? …God responded with ‘I AM WHO I AM’.

It’s important that we understand the magnitude of that saying…when God told Moses to tell the Israelites that the ‘I AM’ sent Him…that saying ‘I AM’ is the ultimate statement of self-sufficiency and self-existence.

It means that God is not dependent upon anyone…His plans are not determined by anyone…He is unchangeable…He is completely sufficient in Himself to do what He wills…to accomplish what He wants and to do as He pleases.

The name I AM in conjunction with the name Yahweh is stating that God’s existence is not dependent on anything other than His own Self.

This statement so defines God that when Jesus referred to Himself as the I AM… stating that He lived thousands of years before Abraham was even born…Before Abraham I AM [John 8:58] …not I was…but I AM…they killed Him for it.

What difference does it make in knowing God’s name?

I wanted to share with you this morning some of the reasons why it does make a difference in knowing God’s name…because it is an indicator in how we view God…because it ties directly into who our idea of who God is.

To have a clear understanding of God…it’s important that we have an appreciation of what His name means because that is the starting point in having a good conception of …His character…including who He is…what He is like…what kind of God He is…and His attributes through which He reveals Himself to those who love Him.

That’s why God’s name of Yahweh is more than a title…its meaning is important for our understanding of who He is…His name defines Him better than attempting to describe Him with mere words because our words simply cannot do justice to describe a holy God.

God has given to us a number of ways to grasp who He is…for one…as we have just looked at…His very name defines who He is.

Secondly, He’s given us His Word as a means of describing what kind of God He is.

Third, He’s given us His creation as a way for us to wrap our minds around His awesomeness as a creator.

But probably the best way for us to really appreciate God is for us to look at His many attributes…some are ‘communicable’ attributes…meaning He shares things with His creatures…and there are His ‘incommunicable’ attributes meaning things that are unique only to Him.

Probably without a doubt the attribute that we are all most familiar with in listing the many attributes of God is His holiness…because God is Holy.

Now that’s probably not a new idea…everyone agrees with that statement…but …when applied to God it takes on a completely different connotation.

The term “holy” is often understood in its contemporary usage…the holiness of God is the most difficult of all God’s attributes to explain…partly because it is one of the attributes that is not shared by man.

I want to share with you this morning what our attitude should be towards God…

This morning I want to share with you two qualities of God’s holiness because God’s holiness is unique…as a result

God’s Holiness is without Equal
God’s Holiness Demands Reverence
God’s Holiness Demands Caution
God’s Holiness Demands Separation from the world
God’s Holiness Demands that we be holy.

God’s Holiness is without Equal
The very definition of holiness means God is not at all like us…not in any way…He is completely apart and entirely different than you and me.

When we use the word holy to describe God…we face a problem…We often describe God by compiling a list of qualities or characteristics that we call attributes.

We say that God is loving…merciful…just…gracious…and so on…then…when we define God as holy…the tendency is to add the idea of “holy” as one attribute among many.

Two Problems
…FIRST…not all of God’s attributes are equal…holiness is the primary attribute of God…it’s been said that God’s Holiness is the most sparkling jewel of His crown.

…SECONDLY…people in general…especially unbelievers…desire to reduce God’s holiness to a degree where there is less separation between them and God.

All other attributes must be in subjection to holiness…for example…if we put love as the primary attribute of God…we begin to coddle the idea that unbelievers are really just “one of us” whereby giving them the false assurance that because God is a loving God…then God is “tolerant” of sin or He excuses sin because He is love.

BUT…when the word holy is applied to God…it doesn’t signify one single attribute… on the contrary…the word is used as a synonym for His deity.

The word holy calls attention to all that God is…it reminds us that His love—is a holy love…His justice is a holy justice…His mercy—is a holy mercy. R. C. Sproul, The Holiness of God (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1985), p. 25. https://bible.org/seriespage/5-holiness-god

Numerous times the Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy…Not that He is merely holy…or even holy, holy…BUT…He is holy, holy, holy…the Bible never says that God is love, love, love…or mercy, mercy, mercy…or kind, kind, kind…but it does say that He is holy, holy, holy. R. C. Sproul, pg21.

SO…why the three-fold repetition “holy, holy, holy” (called the trihagion)? The repetition of a name or an expression was common among the Jews…eight times in the Bible God calls people by their name twice…in Judaism…when something is incredibly important, it is mentioned twice.

BUT…when something is mentioned three times in a row…that’s off the charts. That is the greatest emphasis that can be put on anything or anyone in Scripture…this is telling us that being holy is the single most important thing about God.

This is the only attribute of God that is mentioned in the Scriptures three times!… and why of all the attributes of God… being holy, holy, holy implies God is without equal.

God’s Holiness Demand Reverence
What does that mean???? — God’s holiness demands reverence.

God’s holiness is what separates Him from all other beings…it’s what makes Him separate and distinct from everything else…When God is humanized…holiness is lost… everything gets out of perspective…the primary reason is—When we don’t know God’s place…with respect to creation and the universe…then…I don’t know mine.

God is not the “Man upstairs” … “our good buddy in the sky” “He’s not a grandfather figure” … “not our fishing buddy” …. “our NASCAR gumba” …God is not “a vending machine for all our wants”.

Prosperity preachers would have you believe that God loves everybody and is waiting to meet our every request…as a result, we have a concept of God that is less than respectful.

You cannot have an encounter with God and stay the same. When He truly touches you, you are changed – spirit, soul, and body.

In Scripture we see the reaction of some who had a personal encounter with God.
–Abraham—fell on his face Genesis 17:3
–Ezekiel—fell on his face Ezekiel 1:28
–Daniel—seeing the vision of God: “I was terrified and fell face down” Daniel 10:9
–John—upon seeing Him “fell at His feet like a dead man” Revelation 1:17
–Moses—had three personal encounters with God.

Something all these men experienced when they encountered God…is exactly what happens to us when we encounter God…our lives will be transformed…God is a God who transforms lives…our lives will definitely experience change.

When you have an encounter with God—something happens on the inside…when God touches you, it’s not going to be business as usual…people who have known you for years will look at you and say, “There’s something different about you.”

We live in a day of flippant Christianity that has brought God down to a level where we’ve lost the proper sense of awe and fear in His holy presence…that is one of the fundamental reasons why Christians today have a hard time trusting God. They know so little about Him.

You cannot have an encounter with God and stay the same…when He truly touches you, you are changed – spirit, soul, and body.

This morning we’ve looked at why it’s important what we think about God and why we should have an opinion of God that is more than one of just casual knowledge …because what we think about God has a direct impact on how He thinks about us.

Have you ever asked the question… ‘What does God think of me?’ …Have you ever asked yourself that question? …well maybe not out loud, but in your heart?

Ever wonder what God thinks about you? …or if God even really knows you well enough to think about you? If so, what are His thoughts about you?

If Jesus was sitting here right now…how do you think He would think of you? … with…excitement…pleasure…pride…joy…satisfaction…OR…with shame… sadness…frustration…anger…embarrassment…regret…or disappointment?

How can I know for sure what God thinks of me? …there are only two ways God thinks about people…only two…either you are a child of His…or…you are not.

It all starts with how you think about God…and what you believe about God…if what you think about God is not who God has revealed Himself as in the Bible…the Yahweh who desires to have a personal experience with you, then you need to reassess your relationship with Him.

Acts 17:24-31

What comes to mind when you think about God? NOT asking do you believe in God…but what do you think about God…most of us have a range of different ideas that come to mind when we think about God.

Unfortunately people think of God like they do other people…Bible even says so… ‘You thought I was just like you’ [Ps. 50:21]. We basically know God through His attributes…an attribute is a characteristic ascribed to someone.

For those familiar with the name A.W. Tozer, his quote about how we think about God is probably the most often stated fact about people. ‘What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.’

For some, what they think about God is nothing more than a reflection of themselves…collectively we are shaped by our view of God in more ways than we know.

What comes to mind when you think about God says a lot about your knowledge of God…your relationship with Him…your obedience to Him…how you deal with other people…it shapes our worship…our identity…and our ethics.

That is why in Paul’s speech on Mars Hill he tells the people of Athens that the gods you worship…you worship in ignorance…ignorance meaning you don’t know any better…let me share something about the eternal God…Acts 17:

24 “The God (ὁ Θεὸς) who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by hands
25 nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything. He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.
26 He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation.
27 that they would seek God…though he is not far from any one of us
28 ‘For in him we live and move and exist…for ‘We are his children.
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.
30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

To know God is to know that God is…that is the basic fundamental requirement in establishing a relationship with God …“he who comes to God must believe that He is” (Heb. 11:6).

BUT…Since God is infinite then there is no way we can fully comprehend Him… so what we think about God must come from what He has said about himself.

We need to have our thoughts about God shaped by what God has revealed in His Word.

We need our minds redirected to the true and living God…in just the seven short verses I read we learn 12 things about God.
He is the maker of all creation [24]
He is the ruler of all creation [24]
He sustains all creation [25]
He is self-sufficient [25]
He is purposeful when He creates [26]
He is omnipresent [27]
He is the source of human life [28]
He is self-sustaining [29]
He is patient [30]
He is jealous [30]
He is the judge over all things [31]
He is righteous [31]

In the final chapter of the book of Micah he asks the question… ‘Who is a God like you?’ …is there anything that God can be compared to?

Paul gives the answer…‘there is no God but One’ …essentially what Zophar told Job. Can you discover the depth of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty? They are high as the heavens…(Job 11:7‐8)

That was the problem with the people in Greece…their worship was to an unknown God…Paul’s argument was there was no other god worthy of worship.

What are your thoughts about God at this time in your life? …is your mind clouded by the many failures in your life that at times you find yourself concerned that God might suddenly rain down punishment on you?

Are you dwelling in the darkness…shame…and isolation because if others knew about your sin they would reject you and send you into some kind of spiritual exile?

What are your thoughts about God as 2022 draws to a close?

I don’t historically give a New Year’s Resolution sermon…I don’t believe in them…it’s like with Lent, if God wants me to stop doing something it won’t be for just 40 days.

As far as resolutions go…if God wants me to change something in my life, it won’t be just until I get tired of doing it…that’s usually what New Year’s resolutions come down to…doing something different until I get tired of it.

With regards to making resolutions people base them on what they think they should do rather than what they actually want to do…the common problem with that is in keeping them…a study ((conducted at the University of Scranton)) found that 23% of people quit their resolutions after just one week…so why bother.

So…let me ask again…as 2022 draws to a close, what are your thoughts about God?

Hopefully the reason you come to Sunday School and Church is so you can know God better through a deeper study of His revelation about Himself…so we can think rightly about Him.

Here’s the problem…when we have wrong ideas about God which can result from a number of things…some are a mixture of misconceptions from cultures and sources far removed from God’s Word…some are from those who pollute God’s Word for financial or personal gain…some as a result of ignorance…not knowing.

When that occurs in any form, that is the starting point from where things are believed about God as if they were true.

When there is even the simplest corrupting of basic theology it results in perverted notions about God that soon pollute the very concept of who God is.

When the Church surrenders its opinions of God concerning any Biblical matters, the Church and its worship declines as well.

Any compromise…any contamination of even the simplest of church creeds will result in the Church believing and imagining things about God that are different from who He actually is…that is a heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind.

It’s imperative that we pass on to the next generation of Christians the undiminished concept of God which we received from our Hebrew and Christian fathers of generations past…this will prove to be of greater value to them than anything that art or science can devise.

Here’s where the confusion about God ends…people say with so many views of what God is like, how can anyone say there is a right view of God?

First of all…if something is true about God…then it must be true in all places at all times…it can’t be different in different cultures…can’t have contradictory views about God and still be accurate…NOW…what is known about God can increase… progressive revelation…BUT…God as a perfect being does not change.

The concern becomes what source do you use to determine what God is like… what is the baseline to determine what God is like…there is only one reliable source… that is the claim of the Bible.

One example…the Christian Bible…the Mormon Bible…or the Jehovah Witness Bible…which one is the correct one?…because they are all different when it comes to thinking rightly about God…the concern then becomes what foundation is used to determine what God is like.

I want to share what these three say about God since the title of the sermon is: Thinking Rightly About God.

The opening words of the Old Testament define who God is…the wording we are all familiar with is …בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים…’ĕ-lō-hîm bā-rā bə-rê-šheet…In the beginning God created…which is translated from the original wording of…In the beginning created God.

In the Hebrew the word God (אֱלֹהִ֑ים) is masculine plural…the word is plural and implies that God is more than one person…suggesting that more than one deity performed it…this is the first indication in Scripture that God is a trinitarian God consisting of the Father…Son…and Holy Spirit.

BUT…there’s more…the word translated ‘created’ (בָּרָ֣א) is a Qual Perfect 3rd person masculine singular verb…very strange wording…a plural noun and a singular verb …it is used exclusively to describe an activity God performs.

But it also indicates that God is singular in nature because the verb ‘created’ (3rd per. mas. sing) implies God is singular…but the word (אֱלֹהִ֑ים) mas. plural states that God is more than one entity…so from the very first verse of the Bible we are told a single creator God exists…but He exists in more than one dimension.

Both the Mormon bible and Jehovah Witness bible depict a very different idea of God…Mormonism teaches that God was once a mortal man on another planet who through obedience to his god eventually attained the position of being a god himself…that is so wacked out I’m not even going to address it.

With respect to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, they teach that Christ, before He came to earth and since He returned to heaven, was and has always been… Michael the Archangel …no need to go any further.

What you think about God says a lot about your knowledge of God…your relationship with Him…your obedience to Him…what we think about God shapes our worship…our identity…and our ethics.

BUT…How can we really know God? …How can the finite know the infinite? …How can the mortal enjoy a relationship with the immortal? …How can flesh and blood interact with an Eternal Spirit? …How can limited intellect comprehend the incomprehensible?

Again…the very question Zophar asked Job concerning such an impossibility:

Can you discover the depth of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty? (Job 11:7‐8).

SO…what is God like that we must think rightly about Him?

There is no description in the Bible which fully explains what God is like…we cannot see him …we cannot prove He exists…we can see the results of His work …the universe exists because He made it.

The Bible does gives us a glimpse of Him and tells us about some of His characteristics but at the same time…there are elements of God that we cannot grasp because they are beyond our comprehension.

God is self-sufficient…self-sustaining…and self-existent…He is beyond space and time…that is why God has ‘communicable’ attributes…meaning He shares things with His creatures, and ‘incommunicable’ attributes, meaning things that are unique only to Him.

Being created in God’s image…we share many of God’s attributes…to a much lesser extent we all experience…love…mercy…and kindness…however…there are attributes that are unique only to God…will never be shared by any created being.

Omnipresence—there is no place God isn’t…He’s everywhere.
Omniscience—God knows everything
Omnipotence—God is in total control of His creation.

As a result…He doesn’t need us…He doesn’t need our praise…He has thousands of angels gathered around His throne praising Him every minute [Rev. 5:11 / Heb. 12:22]…He is a God who needs no outside help from us.

So…why must we think rightly of God?…Because He is a God who desires to be known by us [Ps. 46:10] …who wants to have a relationship with us and know us personally…even intimately and despite the fact that our initial encounter with God in the Garden was a bad experience…He still provided a way to restore it.

Let me share something from an unknown author

“If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it. Every spring He sends you Flowers. Every morning He sends you a sunrise. He can live
anywhere He wants in the universe, but He chose your heart.

We have just concluded another Christmas season filled with stress.. aggravation …too much family…lack of sleep…but…no lack of sweets…during that time, if you were with us the four weeks before Christmas, you heard us talk about the Advent candles that represented hope…faith…joy…and peace.

These four candles have their own special themes during the holiday season…they define the four results of a relationship with Christ.

…hope–the confident expectation that what God has promised will happen.
…faith–the confident assurance that what is unseen will be seen.
…joy–the feeling we’ll experience when we see Jesus.
…peace–the serenity that comes over us when God takes control of our lives.

And now as we prepare for a New Year and look to the future…I would like for us to keep in our thoughts the importance of thinking rightly about God… being ready for His return…and the promised hope of eternal life that all who believe in His Son will have.

I mentioned last night that this is a difficult time of the year for preachers…this and Resurrection Sunday…preparing for both a Christmas Eve and Christmas day sermon…trying to share something new about an event that’s been preached on for over 2000 years.

Living in America, who doesn’t know the Christmas story?…so it leaves the Pastor in a difficult position of trying to introduce a new twist to a topic that’s preached every December 25th …what more can you say that hasn’t been said?

One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Christmas story is when the angels appeared to the shepherds they proclaimed “Peace on earth.”

One of the prophecies about Jesus is that He is referred to as “the Prince of Peace” [Isaiah 9:6] ]… something that was written about Him 700 years before He was even born…four times He is referred to as the “God of Peace” [ Rom. 15:13 / Phil. 4:9 / 1 Thess. 5:23 / Heb. 13:20].

That idea is one of the most dominant themes of the Advent season…you see it posted everywhere…peace on earth.

Last week we lit the fourth advent candle…referred to as the Angels candle but also known as the peace candle.

This time of year it’s normal for us to think of Jesus as the sweet baby in the manger…even our songs refer to His innocence…laying down His sweet head and no crying does He make.

Unfortunately for some Jesus has never left the manger…so many times we fail to see a picture of what He’s gonna look like when He’s no longer that baby in a manger.

People tend to imagine Jesus as an adult in the same way they viewed Him as a baby…as the sweet… mild…gentle natured Son of God.

That’s the way we like to depict Jesus especially at Christmas…BUT…this Christmas I’d like for us to have a better understanding of who it is we’re worshipping…to do this we’ve got to get Jesus out of the manger.

We think that Jesus came to establish peace…to be an end to conflict and strife… to make our lives more comfortable…more safe and secure…along with the misguided idea that He also came to give you your heart’s desires…BUT is that accurate?

In Matthew…Jesus makes a statement that is in contrast to what we have been told all of our lives concerning Jesus’ mission in coming to earth.
Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth.
I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. [Matt. 10:34]

That’s contrary to everything we preach about Jesus…but in Matthew 10 Jesus expounds on that idea…after selecting His 12 disciples Jesus sends them out on a mission to heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God throughout the villages and towns of Israel.

Knowing what they are about to encounter He warns them that contrary to what they might think…they will be persecuted…hated…despised and sent away… even Jesus Himself was given no better response.

Mark records when Jesus healed the man possessed by an evil spirit …the response of the town’s people was not to sing praises…they didn’t build a hospital in His honor…instead they sent out a committee to ask Him to leave.

Jesus had just commanded demons to leave a man and enter into a herd of pigs who ran down a hill into a lake and were all drowned.

There was no concern or compassion for the demoniac man…they didn’t celebrate his return to normalcy…they were upset about the loss of the pigs… that’s something that would affect the local economy…so He was asked to leave.

The world…and even some Christians say… ‘Well I certainly wouldn’t have treated Jesus like that’ …but the reality is…most people do…and do it on a regular basis because Jesus said we would…that is what is meant in the saying:

Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division. [Luke 12:51]

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth.
I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. [Matt. 10:34]

Jesus didn’t come for the purpose of causing division…it’s His very presence that divides people…His coming to earth started a revolution.
Christmas is the anniversary of a revolution…and the manger scene is the revolutionary symbol…a revolution that continues on today.

That is why secular humanists don’t want Christ in Christmas…in the public schools…in our court system…in the hallways of Congress…or in any thing that suggests there is a God because Christmas suggests that the Divine has come to earth…and that’s just not popular…wonder why our country is the way it is.

BUT…that was Jesus’ intent in coming…He came to divide…He didn’t come to bring peace but a sword…the problem is…this doesn’t fit with our view of the sweet…innocent …meek…and mild baby Jesus in the manger…this doesn’t fit with our cultural view of the ‘Jesus who just loves everybody.’

The divisiveness that started in a manger 2000 years ago continues on today… what are we to make of that? …what happened to the Prince of Peace? What happened to “good will on those on whom God’s favor rests”?

Said this last week and I’m saying it again…Peace with God and the favor of God is not directed at all people…only those that trust in the name of the only begotten Son of the God experience the peace God brings…and are described as “those on whom his favor rests.”

In Revelation 19 Jesus is described as a conquering rider…and from His mouth comes a sharp sword to strike down the nations [Rev. 19:15].

So again…what happened to the baby in the manger…and the songs of ‘Glory to God in the highest, and to men peace on earth?” What kind of Christmas message is this that depicts the Prince of Peace who has become the executor of God’s wrath?

How do we reconcile our view with the fact that Jesus says He has come to bring a sword? What does He mean?

Never in Scripture is Jesus pictured wielding a sword…even the text about Jesus having a sword coming from His mouth is not referring to a literal sword.

The sword is a metaphor…in Scripture the Word of God is always referred to as a sword…Jesus is proclaiming the Word of God…that’s the sword.
Isaiah 49:2a: “And He [God] has made My [Servant’s] mouth like a sharp sword.”

Isaiah 11:4b: “And He [Messiah] will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.”
Psalm 2:9a: “You [Messiah] shall break them with a rod of iron,”
Isaiah 63:2-3: “Why is Your [the Lord’s] apparel red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? ‘I have trodden in My anger And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My raiment.’”

This mild…compassionate Jesus will one day return as the conquering Warrior-King who will ‘strike down the nations’ who are in rebellion against God…a vision that awaits a future fulfillment.

Here we see one of the most fascinating attributes of God…a description of the two natures of Jesus.

ONE…As the Lamb of God Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost.’ [Luke 19:10] …that’s you and me…at one time we were all hopelessly lost… with no ambition or way to be united with God…that is the reason Jesus came to earth… you and I are the reason for the season.

Simply celebrating Christmas is not making a choice for Jesus…God’s favor is on those who have a belief and acceptance of Him as God’s Son…it is a decision that must be made by each individual person.

SECONDLY…As the Lion of Judah He is a conquering warrior who will bring God’s ultimate consuming wrath on those who have turned from God and not trusted in Him.

Jesus came to restore all that we lost in Eden…when God created man he was at peace with God…himself…and everyone else… however that peace was lost when he turned against God.

That baby in the manger wrapped in swaddling clothes was born to live a life that you and I can’t… the cute baby who would become unrecognizable at His death even by His own mother because of the brutal…horrendous death He died.

During the Christmas season we celebrate the birth of Jesus…not as an historical figure…but as God Himself who came to reverse the curse that we brought upon ourselves.

This Christmas as you give and receive gifts I hope you take a moment and appreciate Christmas for what it really is…not only as the baby who is God in the flesh…not only as the Judge of all the earth…but the One who is the assurance that as Christians we are His children and one day Heaven will be our home.

That should encourage us all to look at Christmas in a new way this year.
To look forward to when Christ will come back to establish God’s kingdom on earth…when God’s revolution will be complete…that should cause us to live today in light of that hope.

The peace God brings is so we can not only experience peace with Him…but with one another…overcoming our divisions and move toward one another in love and understanding.

That’s all encompassed in the lighting of the fifth candle.

I want you all to know how much I appreciate you being here this evening as we celebrate…just for a few minutes the time of the year set aside as Jesus’ birth date.

I’ve mentioned before this is a difficult time of the year for preachers…preparing for both a Christmas Eve and Christmas day sermon…then trying to share something new about an event that’s been preached on for over 2000 years.

Living in America, who doesn’t know the Christmas story?…so it leaves the Pastor in a difficult position trying to introduce a new twist to a topic that’s preached every December 25th …what more can you say that hasn’t been said?

This evening we’re here to light the fifth and final Advent candle…the Christ candle…that represents the light that Jesus brought into the world when He was born…the fifth candle focuses on the transition from prophecy to fulfillment.

Advent means “arrival” or “coming,” a time of spiritual anticipation and expectation of the birth of Christ…much like Lent is the spiritual preparation for Resurrection Sunday.  

Advent season stands between the ‘already but not yet’…the already was about waiting…when the Old Testament saints waited during the long period of time that preceded Jesus’ first coming…the time from Genesis to Matthew.

But also is the not yet part…the time we’re living in now…we stand between the first and second advent…an equally important time when we are waiting expectantly on the second coming of the Lord…that’s the not yet part.

Advent is a time for all believers to commemorate the arrival of the Messiah…prepare for His second coming…and celebrate the joy of Christmas. 

I’m going to be brief this evening…not because I don’t have anything to say, but because I want the focus to be more on the event rather than on my preaching.

I’m reminded of the story of the man who, when leaving the church after a lengthy sermon, told the pastor:

“Pastor, your sermon reminded me of God’s peace and love.”

Obviously flattered, the pastor asked how so?

Well, it reminded me of God’s peace because it surpassed all understanding! And it reminded me of God’s love because it seemed to go on forever!”

For the past four weeks we have been celebrating Advent…if you have been with us these past four weeks, we have lit the Advent candles of hope…faith…joy … and peace…and recalled how each of the candles represents a different theme… each candle has its own special significance.

Every Sunday during the Advent season a family from our congregation came forward to read a passage of Scripture and to light a candle.

At the expense of re-preaching again the meaning of these themes let me summarize:
…hope…the confident expectation that what God has promised will happen.  
…faith…the confident assurance that what is unseen will be seen.
…joy…the feeling we’ll experience when we see Jesus.
…peace…the serenity that comes over us when God takes control of our lives.

This time of year we sing Christmas carols that include the themes of all four of these candles…the songs:
‘Peace has Come’ expressing the serenity that God’s presence provides.
‘Joy to the World’ expressing the excitement of Jesus coming to earth.
‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ expressing our faith in a coming Savior.
‘Hope Has a Name’ expressing God’s promise of sending His Son to earth.

The Christmas season is supposed to be the happiest time of year…the angels who announced Jesus’ birth said so “…I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people…” (Luke 2:10).

BUT…when you look at the world with all its unrest…violence…pain…and brokenness…you wonder if hope…joy…and peace…are really possible?

Look at our nation…for the past two years we’re still feeling the aftershocks of one of the most contentious elections in U.S. history that continues to cause deep divisions within our country.

I doubt if anyone of us has been exempt…our communities…workplace… neighborhoods…families…and even within the church there are still strong feelings about the results.

The world is not the way it’s supposed to be…but you don’t need for me to tell you that…you already know that…and probably for most of us…our lives are not the way we’d like for them to be either.

Have to wonder how did we get so far from God’s description of the world after He created it from being ‘very good’ [Gen. 1:31] to the fractured broken mess it’s in today.

If you been in church for any length of time then you know the answer to why the world is in such a fractured mess…because sin entered the world and made a mess of everything…and things have never been the same since.

People in their self-reliant…self-sufficient…self-supporting…self-sustaining lives don’t want God interfering in their business…and worse yet…they don’t believe they are under God’s judgment and will face eternity away from Him when they die…could anything be more hopeless?

What an uplifting Christmas Eve message this has been so far…and in case you’re saying… ‘Where’s the uplifting part of this message’…here’s the uplifting part of the message.

God refused to leave the world in the fractured broken mess it has become…so He took matters into His own hands and entered into the world Himself…with the intent of pulling the world back together.
Jesus said “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38).

Not bringing with Him the kind of hope…faith…joy…and peace the world was expecting…because that will not occur until Jesus returns sometime in the future possibly thousands of years from now.

BUT rather the kind of hope, faith, joy, and peace Jesus brings comes as a result of restoring the relationship between Himself as the creator and us as the creation.

It’s what theologian Karl Barth called the ‘impossible possibility’ …a God who is able to do what we…in our own striving and efforts…cannot do.
That’s what Christmas is…it’s when Christians celebrate God’s love for the world through the birth of the Christ child…it’s a time of God showing His love for us.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the pervasive commercialism of Christmas has resulted in Christmas being less about religion and more about being a cultural holiday…people who are not even religious celebrate Christmas.

SO…as we prepare tonight and tomorrow to celebrate the time of the year we designate as Jesus’ birthday…we should look at Christmas in a new way this year.

Statistics reveal that you will remember very little of what I have said this evening …not very encouraging if you’re a pastor…might be why according to a Pew Research Center the average Catholic sermon is only 14 minutes long.

So knowing that…just real quick I would like to leave you with three short reasons why Jesus is the reason for the season:

—FIRST…He is the only way to God… others may say they have access to God… but Jesus is the only way [John 14:6].

—SECONDLY…He came to seek and save us!! Jesus told Zacchaeus that ‘the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ [Luke 19:10] …that’s you and me…at one time we were all hopelessly lost…with no ambition or way to be united with God… that is the reason Jesus came to earth… you and I are the reason for the season.

Everything that Jesus did in His ministry…in His preaching…teaching…healing …even what He accomplished on the cross can be seen as an intentional deliberate saving act of love.

—THIRDLY… God has a plan for our individual lives…He knows us personally by name and has prepared a purpose for us other than just living and breathing.

That’s what lighting the fifth candle is all about…Jesus bringing light into the world and into each one of our lives by giving us a plan and a purpose for living.

Praise God for Christ’s response to be the reason for the season…that should be a reminder that there is no better gift to give yourself this year than:

1.Accepting Jesus as your Savior…if you’ve never done that let me encourage you to do so.

2.Accept God’s will and plan for your life…allow God to show you your destiny.

There is no better gift you can give yourself than those two.

6 For to us a child is born…And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [Isaiah 9:6]

One of the prophecies about Jesus is that He is referred to as “the Prince of Peace”…five times He is referred to in that manner [Isaiah 9:6 / Rom. 15:13 / Phil. 4:9 / 1 Thess. 5:23 / Heb. 13:20] which is one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Christmas story… when the angels appeared to the shepherds they proclaimed “Peace on earth.”

We’re here this morning to light the fourth Advent candle as we work our way around the advent wreath…the Peace candle.

Peace means different things to different people…for some…peace is happiness …peace is love…peace is living without fear or anxiety…peace is forgiveness… peace means living a life where your rights are guaranteed.

Depending on what your definition of peace is…it’s something we all long for yet it is something that is sadly lacking in our world…people are full of worry and anxiety…relationships are full of conflict and stress… the world is full of conflict and wars.

BUT…“Peace on earth” …is a phrase you hear everywhere, especially around Christmas time…but it’s so elusive…even in our own lives we struggle to find peace with ourselves… peace in our relationship with others…and certainly in finding peace with God.

Jesus talked about peace in both a positive and negative sense.
…During the Sermon on the Mount, He taught that peacemakers are blessed and will be called the sons of God (Matthew 5:9).

…At the Last Supper He comforted His disciples by saying, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you” (John 14:27).
…in a more negative way…He warned His disciples that He had not come to bring peace to the world, that in fact, He would divide people (Matthew 10:34-36).

Peace is one of those words that people use a lot but they don’t always explain it very well and understand it even less.

It’s like the word ‘hope’…some use the word hope as a way of expressing wishful thinking…that’s what worldly hope is…having a desire for a certain thing to happen but having no control over whether or not it will actually happen.

Whereas Biblical hope is not just a desire for something to happen…it expects it to happen…Biblical hope is the confident expectation that something will happen.

Like ‘hope,’ depending on which religion or philosophy people follow, their definitions of peace may be different as well…even among Christians the words of the angels:

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests [Luke 2:14]

conjures up different ideas of what peace is depending on who you talk to. It’s important as Christians to understand how the Bible describes peace.

In Jesus’ coming to earth and His subsequent death, God took the action to restore peace between Himself and man.

since we have been justified through faith, we have Peace with God… [Romans 5:1]

And although the good news regarding peace on earth that was delivered by the angels appears to apply to all people…it doesn’t.

We must recognize that human beings in our natural state are enemies of God… we are born with a disposition to please ourselves and be our own god…so in our rebellious sinful state we cannot have peace with God no matter how hard we try.

Wording on Christmas cards reflects the old KJV translation of [Luke 2:14] which says: ‘Peace on earth good will toward men’ implying a universal application… BUT the wording in the Greek suggests that is an inaccurate translation.

I’m not a big KJV fan…it has numerous translation anomalies…this is one:

Contrary to what is written in the KJV translation…the angels’ pronouncement was not…‘Peace on earth good will toward men’ but more specifically to “those on whom God’s favor rests,” EVERYBODY…there’s a big difference.

Peace with God and the favor of God is not directed at all people…only those that trust in the name of the only begotten Son of God experience the peace God brings…and are described as “those on whom his favor rests.”

Nowhere in Scripture is it taught that peace on earth is for all men.

What Does Peace Really Mean?
First…it means peace within ourselves.
It’s the inner peace…that begins when God removes your fears & worries and replaces it with His peace…inner peace begins when you trust in God.

In [John 14:27] Jesus defines the importance of having Godly inner peace…He tells the disciples:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. [John 14:27]

See…again a clear contrast between Godly peace and worldly peace…my peace I give you…(not) as the world gives…to get the true meaning of this verse you need to go back to the beginning of chapter 13.

Knowing the events that were about to happen…His arrest…His trial…His crucifixion…and His death…Jesus realized His disciples would be on the verge of disbanding.

He wanted them to have not only assurance…but peace and comfort as well… He understood that it was about to get rough for them and He wanted them to not be worried or troubled.

God’s peace pushes through all the disturbing circumstances that life can throw at you…it doesn’t eliminate them…it gives you the ability to endure them…giving you an inner confidence that God is aware of every situation in your life.

True peace comes when the God of peace takes over our lives.

Having God in control of your life makes Him the source of your strength to alter matters within your control and to accept matters which you have no control over.

God’s peace is a state of tranquility or quietness that transcends circumstances… it’s the calm assurance that what God is doing is best…there’s no mistakes…no errors…or miscalculations with God.

Again…the importance of knowing [Rom. 8:28] and the misguided interpretation of ‘God causes all things to work together for good’ that we try to apply to it.

Jesus is our peace within…that comes from knowing that He is in control of all things.
1) To work all things together for His good…not necessarily yours.

2) ONLY to those who are called according to His purpose.

You are doing a great injustice when you tell someone who is not a Christian that God will work things out for their good…it’s like telling someone who is not a Christian that God loves them…neither one is true if they are not a Christian.

Secondly…it means Peace with Others
Peace with others begins as we understand that God has called us to be peacemakers.

Peacemakers reconcile people with God and with each other.

…is there someone in your life today that you need to extend an invitation of apology to?

…is there a fractured family relationship you need to smooth over?

…is there a silence that needs to be broken that has stood as a barrier between you and someone else for far too long?

As believers we should put aside our differences (Galatians 3:28), because we belong to the same family.

BUT…being a Godly peacemaker doesn’t end there…peacemakers are called to be ambassadors for Christ.

Christmas is not just about hope for us as believers… it’s about reaching the entire world with the hope of the Gospel by urging others to know about the peace of Christ through repentance and by accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Thirdly…it means Peace with God
That is the peace that comes from our assurance of salvation.

What a terrible …horrible way to go through life not knowing what awaits you after death…fortunately the Bible does tell us what awaits us after death.

In an effort to obtain peace with God…all religions…there are over 4,000 recognized religions in the world…other than true Christianity have one thing in common…they all try to achieve peace with God by doing things.

By following rules…by taking communion…by baptism…by church membership…by doing things.

As a result, they never have the calm assurance of salvation because they’re always working towards something they can never attain…somehow believing it’s pleasing to God.

God’s peace is on those whom God’s favor rests…it is only then that we can have peace with God because—price of admission—Peace with God means:

…our sins have been paid for…forgiven [1Peter 3:18 / John 1:12; 3:16]
… we are no longer enemies of God [Rom 5:10]
… God sees us as righteous (Col. 2:14; Rom. 3:22)
… we are His beloved children (1 John 3:2).
… we no longer need to fear death (Rom 6:5 / Phil. 3:20)

But there’s also a warning associated with the peace of God…attitudes that can destroy God’s peace in our lives.

…When we equate God’s peace with the assumption that God will give us whatever we want…we set up a conflict between our wants and God’s desire for our lives.
…When we insist on being in control of our lives, we set up a conflict between us and God by sabotaging God’s will for our lives.
…When we choose to worry rather than live by faith, we cannot live in peace… because worry is the enemy of peace…God invites us to cast our cares on Him.
…When we choose to be at peace with the world…live by its standards…we will never be at peace with God.

If you want to begin experiencing more peace this Christmas season and into next year…there is only one way…it was God who took the initiative in pursuing that peace by sending His Son to earth.

Do you have peace with yourself this morning? If your faith is in Christ then the Holy Spirit has come to live in you offering God’s peace.

The Holy Spirit has been given to us to guide…convict…comfort…and remind us of Jesus’ completed sacrifice on our behalf…it’s like a promise ring…the certainty that a greater event will take place [2 Cor. 1:22].

Do you have peace with others this morning? If your faith is in Christ then He has given you all the resources you need to do your part in having a peaceful relationship with others.

Do you have peace with God this morning?
Our certain expectation is secure in the knowledge that Jesus has done all that was necessary to make us right with God [Matt. 5:17]…and we have the assurance that our last breath on earth will be followed by our first breath in heaven.

When we develop a lifestyle of making Jesus the Lord of life then the peace of God becomes a permanent part of our character…since God’s Spirit lives in you then His peace will dwell in you as well.

That is only achieved when we have peace with God through Jesus…being at peace with God comes by grace alone …through faith alone…in Christ alone…by coming into a relationship with Jesus…If you have never done that…let me invite you to do that this morning.

Joy appears in the opening pages of the New Testament…joy begins even before the birth of Jesus when God tells Zechariah…John the Baptist’s father…that:

Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son…and you will have joy and gladness [Luke 1:13].

When Jesus was born an angel appeared to the shepherds and declared, I bring you good news of great joy [Luke 2:10].

After His resurrection and before His ascension back into heaven the disciples:
worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy [Luke 24:52].

So, even before Jesus’ birth and throughout His ministry, joy was clearly evident.

This morning we’re continuing on in our Advent series…having already lit the candle of prophecy and the Bethlehem candle …this morning we lit the third of five candles as we work our way around the Advent wreath.

You may have noticed that this candle is a different color from the other three… there are three purple candles around the outside of the wreath and one pink candle…the third pink candle symbolizes joy.

Pink is the liturgical color for joy…the third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete (gau da ta) Sunday and celebrates the joy of Christ’s coming to earth.

This candle is also known as the shepherd’s candle…it reflects the joy that the shepherds enjoyed on that first Christmas day at Jesus’ arrival.

It is meant to remind us of the ‘already, but not yet’ …because Advent is about expectations when the Old Testament saints waited expectantly for the coming of the Messiah that occurred when God came to earth in the form of a human on that first Christmas day…that is the already part.

The ‘not yet’ part is the time we’re living in now…standing between the first and second advent…an equally important time when we are waiting expectantly on the second coming of the Lord…that’s the not yet part.

It’s appropriate at Christmas time that we sing “Joy to the World” …a song written by Isaac Watts in 1719.

What is interesting about this song is that it was not intended to be a Christmas carol…in its original form, it had nothing to do with Christmas…it wasn’t even written to be a song.

Watts often paraphrased the Psalms …and “Joy to the World” was inspired by his study of Psalm 98…what’s interesting about this Christmas song is the only stanza that is even related to Christmas in the whole song is in the first one that announces ”the Lord is come” …other than that there is no mention of

…Mary or Joseph …the angels …or the Shepherds…the manger …the Wise Men

yet, it is one of our most beloved Christmas carols because it really captures the essence of Christmas, which is joy.

But just like with the other two Advent themes…hope…and peace…there is a conflict with joy.

With respect to ‘hope’ …some use the word hope as a way of expressing wishful thinking…that’s worldly hope…having a desire for a certain thing to happen but having no control over whether or not it will actually happen.

Whereas Biblical hope is not just a desire for something to happen…it expects it to happen…Biblical hope is the confident expectation that something will happen.

With respect to peace…worldly peace is thought of as the absence of conflict but Biblical peace its more than just the absence of conflict…it’s taking action to restore a broken situation.

In Jesus’ coming to earth and His subsequent death, God took the action to restore the broken fellowship between Himself and man.

since we have been justified through faith, we have Peace with God… [Romans 5:1]

So, all three Advent themes…hope…peace…and joy are all closely related… this morning we’re talking about the ‘joy’ portion of the Advent season.

BUT…Just like with worldly hope and worldly peace…there’s a difference between Godly joy and worldly happiness.

Biblical joy is different than what most people think of as joy…it is not just a happy emotion that we either feel or don’t feel…it’s a state of being that finds its source in God.

One of the obvious differences between happiness and joy is that worldly happiness tends to be externally based on things that are superficial.

Here’s what researchers have found that affects worldly happiness:
…how much money you have
…what kind of job you have
…what kind of car you drive
…what kind of house you live in
…what kind of friends you have

BUT…with all those things that contribute to happiness…it’s obvious worldly happiness is temporary…it is an outward expression that is dependent on external factors.

When the source of worldly happiness is gone the search begins for a new source…a new thrill…a new desire…happiness is gone because happiness is dependent upon external things.

Happiness focuses on what is happening at the time…for many, happiness is nothing more than a temporary interruption to boredom.

It can be present for weeks and be gone in an instant…when:
…you don’t have money
…you don’t have a job
…you become homeless
…you lose your car
…your friends
…your loved ones forsake you
…when things get rough

It’s important to remember that the joy we have in Christ is not seasonal or situational.

For Christians…we can experience happiness even during difficult times…the Bible speaks about something that is often confused with worldly happiness …Biblical joy.

The kind of JOY the Bible talks about goes much deeper than mere happiness… Godly joy doesn’t depend on what’s happening.

Biblical joy is an inner sense of well-being despite the circumstances you’re experiencing.

Today we are living in a world where people are searching for joy in their lives …so the question is: How can I find joy?

Here’s the joy God’s peace produces…you can have joy even in difficult situations…everything doesn’t have to be right in your life for you to experience joy.

God’s peace gives you the ability to endure difficult situations…HOW? because it pushes through all the disturbing circumstances that life can throw at you.

The benefit of joy is that you can rise above the trials and tribulations of life and still find reasons to have joy in your life…whereas happiness can vanish during difficult times.

God is not working to make us happy…BUT…to fulfill His purpose…the joy God gives is an inner peace knowing you’re in God’s will even during difficult times…because you know He is aware of every situation in your life.

In fact Scripture says to consider it all joy when you encounter difficult situations because at times it just might be God who is putting you in those situations.

Something Christians have a difficult time in understanding is that…as a Christian you belong to God and He will use you to fulfill His purpose in the world…that is why…

God will put people…situations…and circumstances…in your life…that on the surface seem to be troublesome…BUT…so you can be of service to Him.

Talked last week about Mary and Joseph…a 12-year-old child who finds herself pregnant…who travels 90 miles on the back of a donkey to give birth in a barn… then after the baby’s born has to move away from her parents…her family and friends and live in Egypt.

We make a terrible error in our concept of Christianity when we believe that God makes life easy when we are in His will…that if we’re in God’s will everything will be just fine…that life will be without trials or difficulty.

Read a secular article that attempted to explain why difficult situations continue to happen to you that rob you of your joy.

The first explanation is you’ve just been unlucky.

We can take great comfort in the fact that God knows what He’s doing…that means there’s no such thing as luck…being in the right place at the right time… no such thing as wishing ‘on’ or ‘for’ something …if you’re a Christian… everything that happens to you, good or bad, must pass through God’s fingers first and…here’s the KEY:

Why does God at times put you in a situation that discourages you and hinders your joy? Because God uses everything that happens to us to accomplish his purpose.

With God nothing is wasted…have you ever found yourself in a season of life that feels like a waste…it seems that life has no purpose…that all you’re doing is just existing… from your vantage point life is utterly useless…just wasting your time?

God will take the things in our lives that seem to be waste and turn them into something useful…even beneficial.

There is value in every piece of our lives…the losses…the failures…the missed opportunities…the disappointments…they can all be turned into something helpful if we give them to God because nothing is wasted…He uses them all.

AGAIN…That was true for Mary and Joseph…nothing was wasted—the sequence of events that unfolded—the census…the long journey…no room at the inn…the “no crib for a bed” …she laid Him in a feeding trough…all of it was planned by God…it was all part of God’s plan.

The second explanation why difficult situations continue to happen to you that robs you of your joy is: you’re making the same mistakes again and again because at times we’re just not learning the lesson.

Rather than owning up to our mistakes and learning from them…we tend to invent new explanations as to why we repeat the same mistakes which are nothing more than excuses to justify our actions.

Let me say this…that is an easy explanation as to why we do at times make the same mistakes…we’re just not learning the lesson…but I also realize that can be an oversimplification because there are other factors that influence our decisions.

Mental health issues can have a strong influence in our ability to make good decisions…low self-esteem…anxiety…depressions…adult ADHD…and personality disorders can all influence us in repeating the same old problematic behavior again and again that can rob us from making good decisions.
https://www.aconsciousrethink.com/10822/bad-things-keep-happening/

The kind of JOY the Bible describes can’t be found in possessions or entertainment or even in looking deeply into your inner self…it doesn’t depend on good circumstances.

(Romans 15:13). May the God of hope fill you with all joy…we cannot will ourselves to experience joy…real joy…not just being happy…comes from God alone…knowing that you are in the center of His will.

(Galatians 5:22) Joy is a fruit of the Spirit…The more time we spend with God the more joy we experience…true joy only comes from God.

(John 16:22) No one can take God’s joy from us. Joy is not lost…it’s stolen.

HOW…disobedience is one of the most common ways the enemy steals our joy how’s he do that?…deceiving you into believing that disobedience isn’t a big deal.

In our permissive society people are afraid to take a stand…because of the idea that Biblical authority is synonymous with being judgmental and legalistic…we have an entire generation that believes obedience is a suggestion to adhere to rules and laws that will rob me of my freedom of choice.

This culture of rebellion has crept into the church…suddenly God’s laws are no longer the standard even for Christians…and the Bible is seen as an evolving document subject to culture norms and practices where sin is so minimized that we no longer see sin as a cause that destroys our fellowship with God.

If we want to live in the joy of the Lord…we must purpose in our hearts to live in obedience to God every day.

One of the things people love about Christmas is that it truly is a joyful season.
All season long we celebrate with music…lights…decorations…getting together with family and friends…sharing Christmas dinner… watching Hallmark Christmas movies…going to Christmas eve service…not to mention the exchanging of gifts…it is a joyful time of the year.

But…the world hijacks the true joy of Christmas because when you come right down to it the real joy at Christmas doesn’t come from the lights…the decorations…the music…or presents…but from the meaning of Christmas.

At the heart of Christmas is the astoundingly good news that Jesus was born as The Savior of this world…from the beginning to end the Christmas story is punctuated with outbursts of joy.

They all center around the birth of Christ…you can’t get away from it…you can’t get around it…you can’t spell Christmas without Christ…and you can’t enter into the true joy of the season without Jesus.

Joy is not produced by humans…we can all feel happiness, but true joy can only be experienced and produced when we are connected to God and His Holy Spirit…actually, it is one of the “fruits” or outward signs produced by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, GENTLENESS, FAITHFULNESS, AND SELF-CONTROL. Ga.5:22-23

Christmas can now be about anything you want it to be…it can be about family …friends…presents…parties…shopping…Santa Clause…hot chocolate, anything you want it to be.

BUT…Let me urge you this year to take another look at Christmas…look at it again with fresh eyes….look past the commercialization…the presents…parties …shopping…and Santa Clause and listen to the message of hope… peace…and joy…then you will know what Christmas is all about.

For the Christian, Christmas is a joyous time of the year knowing that we are His children and that one day Heaven will be our home.

That is a gift and promise we can all look forward to…SO this year look at Christmas in a new way…and if you have never done so…this year invite Jesus into your heart…the joy and peace you receive will last all year long.

The first line in “Joy to the World” sums it up…there is one reason and only one that we can find JOY in this world…we have joy because The Lord has come!

Today is the second Sunday of the Advent season. Advent stands between the already but not yet…it’s about expectations…when the Old Testament saints waited expectantly for the coming of the Messiah that occurred when God came to earth in the form of a human on that first Christmas day.

But our focus should not be limited to just the celebration of the birth of Christ… because Advent also means “coming” …that is the ‘not yet’ part …the time we are living in now…an equally important time when we are waiting expectantly on the second coming of the Lord…because He is coming back.

Each advent candle has a special meaning behind it and presents an opportunity for us to think about the Christmas season.

The first candle, which is purple, symbolizes hope…it is sometimes called the “Prophecy Candle” in remembrance of the prophets and the over 300 prophecies that are in direct reference to Jesus that confirms to me how I know the Bible is the Word of God.

When you look at the Bible the prophecies of the Bible leave nothing to the imagination.

The prophecies of Jesus are specific…with names and places identified… there is no guessing about the accuracy of what is written in the Bible.

–Jesus would be born of a virgin [Isaiah 7:14] Fulfilled [Matt. 1:22 / Luke 1:26]
–Jesus would be born in Bethlehem…not His place of residence [Micah 5:2] Fulfilled [Matt. 2:1 / Luke 2:4]
–Jesus would give physical healing [Isaiah 35:5-6 / 42:7-18]  Fulfilled [Matt. 11:5 / Luke 7:22 / John 9:6-7 / 11:43-44].
–Jesus would come from the tribe of Judah [Gen. 49:10]  Fulfilled [Matt. 21:5]
–Jesus would ride a donkey into Jerusalem [Zech. 9:9]  Fulfilled [Matt. 21:5-11]
–Jesus would die by Crucifixion with pierced hands and feet Fulfilled [Matt. 27:31 / Mark 15:20]

It is the historical accuracy of these prophecies that sets the Bible apart from any other book…it is the specific details of these prophecies that gives clear evidence that the Bible is the inspired Word of God.

We’re here this morning to lite the second Advent candle…often referred to as the ‘Bethlehem Candle’…like the first candle the color purple is associated with royalty and reminds us that Christ is the ‘King of Kings’ …it also reminds us of the journey Joseph and Mary made to Bethlehem.

Again…proof that the Bible is the inspired Word of God…think about this…what reasonable person would suggest having a women who was 9 months pregnant travel some 90 miles on the back of a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem?…did this occur in December?…December is a winter month in Israel …it’s debatable. 

What’s not debatable is the Bible records what seems to be a minor event…a decree by Emperor Augustus to have a census taken of all the inhabited earth… that everyone had to return to their ancestral hometown to be registered.

That event caused Joseph and Mary to travel 90 miles to Bethlehem…since Joseph was a descendant of King David and Bethlehem was the birthplace of his ancestor…it was the place he was required to register for the census…so regardless of what time of year it was…Mary and Joseph had to make the 90-mile trip to Jerusalem.  

Do you think it was by accident that Augustus’s decree for a census came when it did?…this was to fulfill the prophecy that Bethlehem would be the birthplace of the Messiah…just like Micah, who lived 700 years before Jesus was born [Micah 5:2], said would happen…if it had not been for that decree Joseph and Mary would have never went to Bethlehem.

World leaders may think they mandate laws and control what occurs in the world but they are actually unknowingly fulfilling God’s plan.

Just for a minute I want to talk about Mary and Joseph…in both instances God completely disregarded human freedom and human choice…God made Mary to be Jesus’ mother without her consent…then the angel appeared to Joseph and commanded him to take Mary as his wife.

I’m not aware of any passage where the angel asks Mary or Joseph if this was acceptable with them…God simply told them His plan.

We make a terrible error in our concept of Christianity when we believe that God makes life easy when we are in His will…that if we’re in God’s will everything will be just fine…that life will be without trials or difficulty.

That was the case for Joseph and Mary…God’s plan for Mary and Joseph was going to mean difficulty…consider this:

Gabriel tells a 12-year-old child she has favor with God…that sounds like a good thing…except he then tells Mary she would become pregnant by a miracle which she did not freely consent to.                                                                                                                               

Scripture records countless times the people who were in God’s will are the ones who suffered the most.

When things don’t go easy…our response is ‘God you don’t understand …that’s not what I wanted to happen’ …so I’m just going to back out.

Though things were difficult…God blessed Mary and Joseph…God blesses obedience…despite the difficulty of the task…when we comply with God’s desire for our lives…God blesses…He always blesses obedience.

God has a plan and purpose for every person in this sanctuary…God’s plan for our lives isn’t always an easy one…it’s something He planned before you were ever born…with a gift so you could complete that purpose.

As your pastor it’s something I want you to pursue…I want you to be a part of God’s plan and purpose using the gift He gave you to accomplish that plan.

As I said…second Advent candle is the Bethlehem candle or candle of LOVE.

It seems all cultures…in all places…at all times have tried to define love.

There’s poetry written about love…music been sung about love…movies made about love…there’s different ways of talking about and thinking about love.

There are countless attempts in every culture to define love…think about our culture…if you watch…listen…and study what we believe love is you’ll have a slanted interpretation of what love really is.

This morning as we light the second candle it represents God’s love for humanity …as with the other advent candle themes, love is easily misunderstood…we often think of love in purely sentimental terms.

When studying the Bible the Apostle Paul makes a point that love is not always what we think it is…our culture operates on a knowledge of what we think love is…that is in contrast to God’s love.

God’s love was defined in the person of His Son Jesus…that’s the ‘already’ part of the fulfillment of God’s love for those who love Him.

The ‘not yet’ part is the time we’re living in now…we stand between the first and second advent…an equally important time when we are waiting expectantly on the second coming of the Lord…that’s the not yet part.

Here’s the problem when talking about God’s love…it’s like worldly hope… peace…and joy…that have been blatantly misunderstood by people…because of our culture we have an understanding of hope…peace…and joy as something that is determined by what we do or how we feel.

Far too often preachers make God’s love too generous…John addressed this very issue in 1 John when writing to those who were making that mistake… believing “God is love” but not believing what the Bible teaches about the rest of God’s character.

In most English-speaking countries they associate the word ‘love’ with particular kinds of human feelings.  

When Christians speak of the love of God or say that ‘God loves everybody’ …it’s  a deception that is mistakenly believed as Scriptural with no thoughts to the idea that it is not biblical to say that to just anyone.

To talk about the love that God has universally for all people is blasphemy…John 3:16 is not referring to God’s love for people but for His creation…the way it was before sin entered into the world when it was very good.

Romans 5:8 is a better description of God’s love for people.  

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

There’s nothing wrong with the statement that says, ‘God loves everybody’ …when I hear preachers say that ‘God loves everybody unconditionally,’ I want to say, ‘Wait a minute’…where’s that come from…if that was the case then:

—Why does He call us to repent?

—Why does He call us to come to the cross?

—Why does He call us to come to Christ?’

—Why does He say the path to heaven is narrow?

If God loves everybody unconditionally, then you can do whatever you want and believe whatever you think…but that’s just not true.

God does loves us unconditionally…But…He’s placed a condition on His love…a requirement—He commands all men everywhere to repent of their sins and to come to Christ…if you want to enjoy God’s unconditional love you have to be in Christ.

God offers salvation to everyone who asks…but it’s on His terms…and is restricted to only those who have a belief in Jesus. (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). 

There’s a difference between worldly love and Godly love…worldly love is based on feeling…how we feel about someone…worldly love does not come close to representing biblical love because Scripture tells us that the world…and people are enemies of God.

Worldly love is selfish love that tells you to do whatever is necessary to get your own way because selfish love has one person in mind…self.

Worldly love is focused only on this life…this is why Jesus at times treated those whose only interest was in the cares of this world in an unloving way…this is seen in how Jesus treated people.

…even though Jesus loved people He wasn’t always nice to them. (John 2).

…even though Jesus loved people He sometimes pushed people to reconsider what they believed about love (Mark 10:17-27).

…Sometimes He got people to admit their mistakes so they could see how much they needed God (John 4:1-42).

…Sometimes He was rude to people to reveal their hypocrisy (Matt. 13:13-29).

Jesus’ response to people was not a reflection about how He felt about people, but a desire to see them change.

Biblical love pushes a person to not do what the world accepts as normal… biblical love sets boundaries…boundaries that are for our own good.

So how does the Bible define love (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)?

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.⁸Love never fails.

Here’s what important to know about this verse…this verse is in reference to spiritual gifts…Paul is describing how useless, even destructive, spiritual gifts are when not applied from the standpoint of love.

He concludes his discussion in chapter 13 by saying without love…referring to Godly love which is how we act and treat others—without that…nothing else matters.

Something that is comical about this verse is that people who have never darkened the door of a church for anything other than a wedding or a funeral are familiar with this verse.

Because of its immense popularity this verse is read at weddings without either the preacher or the people getting married realizing that this verse has nothing to do with human love or affection for one another…it is taken out of context.

It has nothing to do with marriage…the idea presented in chapter 13 is a carryover from chapter 12 where Paul is describing the use of spiritual gifts…

in fact…Paul goes on to express just how important Godly love is in our everyday Christian walk.

         If I have faith to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing…if I give all my possessions to feed the poor but do not have love, it profits me nothing [1 Cor. 13:2]

So the idea that this verse is somehow related to a romantic setting is misplaced.

Peter…agreeing with Paul….includes a list of qualities that Christians should possess…traits that we should add to our character…that define us a Christians.

⁵ make every effort to add to your faith goodness…and to  goodness, knowledge…⁶ and to knowledge self-control…  and to self-control perseverance…and to perseverance  godliness…⁷ and to godliness mutual affection…and to  mutual affection, love. [2 Peter 1:5-7]

In 1 Corinthians, Paul lists both the positive and negative characteristics of love:

Negative Characteristics of Love

Love is not jealous (v. 4).
Love does not brag (v. 4).
Love is not arrogant (v. 4).
Love does not act unbecomingly (v. 5).
Love is not provoked (v. 5).
Love does not take into account a wrong suffered (v. 5).
Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness (v. 6).

Positive Characteristics of Love

Love is patient (v. 4).
Love is kind (v. 4).
Love rejoices with the truth (v. 6).
Love bears [covers] all things (v. 7).
Love believes all things (v. 7).
Love hopes all things (v. 9).
Love endures all things (v. 7).

Notice…everything that both Peter and Paul list has nothing to do with feelings… because Godly love isn’t a feeling…it’s an action…it’s revealing the characteristics people need to shed from their lives but at the same time revealing what they may be lacking…what needs to be added.

Just looking at that list…wonder how many of those we can identify as being in our lives this morning…either good or bad?

If you have those negative characteristics…get rid of them…if you don’t have the positive characteristics…acquire them…that’s why these verses have very little to do with people getting married.  

What is particularly interesting about these verses is it’s not necessarily a description of what God’s love is and is not…it’s more than that.

This whole discourse is focusing on the idea that without Godly love nothing else in your life is relevant…everything in your personal life and in the life of the Church revolves around love…not feelings of love…but in actions…love is about how you behave and treat others.

In Corinthians Paul is addressing the selfish Christians in Corinth…the single greatest problem in the Corinthian church was their lack of Christian love…it was the lack of Christ-like love that was at the center of every one of their problems.

There are those who encourage you to ‘follow you heart’ but the key to finding God is not following your heart…but to follow Him and obey his teachings.

It’s like the people who believe that all you need to know for salvation is to claim John 3:16…everybody…that’s just the start…because love is action…not feelings …therefore Jesus said if you love me keep my commandments…that’s the action.

Here’s salvation 101…the difference between those abiding in Christ and those not abiding in Christ is the difference between those who are saved and those who are the unsaved…has nothing to do with how you feel.

For those who have not been born of God…God’s love is illusive because they do not know God…therefore…they cannot know the love of God.

Abiding in Christ is not just a superficial acquaintance…it’s the result of the Holy Spirit at work in the life of a Christian…The Holy Spirit provides assurance that the people of God belong to Jesus because love is the primary fruit of the Spirit.

The Bible affirms that God sending Jesus into the world was the act of perfect love (1 John 4:8-12)…then to illustrate the importance of love Jesus reduced the entire Tora down from 613 commands to just two: (Matthew 22:36-40). 

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  …And a second is like it ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  

Love is the greatest of all the virtues on the Advent wreath and encompasses Jesus’ entire purpose for being on earth (1 Corinthians 13:13).

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).