1 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:10,360 This is ERC Sundays, the messages at Emmaus Rd. 2 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:14,240 Church in DeWitt, Iowa. ERC is a Church of people 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:17,320 striving to grow in Jesus and make him known to others through 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,560 our faith, words and actions. Find out more about our church 5 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:25,360 at emmausrdonline.org. Here's this week's message. 6 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:32,200 So I know normally I'll say a few words to introduce the text. 7 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,360 I'm not going to do that today. We're going to dive right in. 8 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:39,000 So if you have your Bibles, you can go ahead and turn to Isaiah 9 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,480 chapter 66. It is the last chapter of 10 00:00:42,480 --> 00:00:44,160 Isaiah. We won't read the whole thing, 11 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:46,880 but we're going to read enough to get the idea. 12 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:49,760 We're going to read 15 through 24, which is the end of the 13 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:54,160 chapter. Again, Isaiah 6615 through 24. 14 00:00:54,760 --> 00:01:01,600 And we read this in Jesus name. For behold, the Lord will come 15 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,800 and fire, and his Chariots like the whirlwind, to render his 16 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:09,920 anger and fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 17 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,600 For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment, and by his sword 18 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:17,600 with all flesh. And those slain by the Lord will 19 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:22,440 be many, those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the 20 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:25,800 gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig's flesh in the 21 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:28,320 abomination. And mice shall come to an end 22 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:32,480 all together, declares the Lord. For I know their works and their 23 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,400 thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and 24 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:40,480 tongues, and they shall come, and they shall see my glory. 25 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,400 And I will set a sign among them, and from them I will send 26 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:48,760 survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, to pull to Lud, and 27 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:52,680 and who and those who draw the bow, Tubal and Javen to the 28 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:56,040 coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my 29 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:58,920 glory. And they shall declare my glory 30 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:02,520 among all of the nations. And they shall bring all your 31 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:06,120 brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on 32 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:10,039 horses and in Chariots and in litters, and on mules and on 33 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:12,160 dromedaries, to my holy mountain. 34 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,880 Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring their 35 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:19,560 grain offering in a clean vessel to the House of the Lord. 36 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:24,320 And some of them also I will take for priests and Levites, 37 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:27,160 says the Lord. For as I knew heavens, and a new 38 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:31,800 earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so 39 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,720 shall your offspring in your name remain. 40 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,560 From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath. 41 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:42,720 All flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the Lord, 42 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:47,120 and they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men 43 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,240 who have rebelled against me, for their worm shall not die, 44 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:53,600 their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be in 45 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:57,440 abhorrence to all flesh. Here ends the reading of God's 46 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:04,680 Word, and Merry Christmas. Nothing like a little fire in 47 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:08,200 judgment to get the Christmas season really ramped up. 48 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:14,360 I got to tell you, if you're not on your heels a little bit after 49 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:16,920 listening to that, I suspect you weren't listening at all. 50 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:22,280 It is a strange thing that we would consider fire and 51 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:26,480 judgement during the happiest time of the year, as they would 52 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:28,960 say. It's it's, it's a unique thing 53 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:31,920 that that we get to read that now. 54 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,240 I think the burning question, burning fire, that's hilarious. 55 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:39,280 I think the burning question is why today? 56 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:44,840 Why would we read that today? Well, here's the thing. 57 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:50,800 I know that it's, it's, it's exciting to think about baby 58 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:53,600 Jesus and there's some level of peace and, and some comfort to 59 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:55,640 that. But we really can't talk about 60 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,320 Jesus coming to the earth in the form of a child if we don't also 61 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:04,120 consider when He comes again. Because the first time He showed 62 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:06,200 up, that was for a very specific purpose. 63 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:10,000 It was to live amongst us, It was to dwell with us. 64 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,000 It was to give His life to forgive sin. 65 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:17,240 But the second time He comes, which we have to consider, it 66 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:21,440 will not be to die. It will not be to forgive sin. 67 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:24,160 The second time He comes, He will come to judge. 68 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:30,960 And when He comes to judge those who are found without faith in 69 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:36,800 Him, they will be put out to darkness, the outer darkness, 70 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:39,280 the Bible calls it, to the place where there's weeping and 71 00:04:39,280 --> 00:04:42,480 gnashing of teeth and fire, as the Bible describes it. 72 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:48,320 And yet for those who are found in Christ, who are found in 73 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,800 faith within him, it's a totally different story. 74 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,120 He takes them to a new heavens and a new earth, a paradise 75 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:58,960 where there's no more sickness or disease or pain or death. 76 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,960 All of these things rendered in judgement. 77 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:12,120 Now I get, I get it, it, it does feel like a heavy topic. 78 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:15,080 And even as I gosh, some people in this congregation, you know 79 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,240 that like I've been struggling with this all week, you know 80 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:20,080 that. And that's not to point the 81 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:22,520 spotlight on me. It's to point out the fact that 82 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,440 there are some hard words that the Bible tells us that we don't 83 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:29,640 need to be cute about them. We don't need to be clever about 84 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:31,200 them. We just need to take them in as 85 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,640 they are. We just need to hear them let 86 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,920 that hardship and sometimes those difficult things, let let 87 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:41,120 them just kind of settle in. I, I don't particularly like 88 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:43,520 being uncomfortable, whether it's on this stage or anywhere 89 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:46,040 else. But then again, maybe that's the 90 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,080 point. Maybe the point sometimes is to 91 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:51,800 let God do his best work through our discomfort. 92 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:54,960 And in doing that, we have a real chance. 93 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,080 We have a chance to do what? We have a chance to be honest 94 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:02,400 with people that some might come to faith and believe and be 95 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:06,760 saved. So with that in mind, here's how 96 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:09,840 I'd like to kind of look at the text that we just heard. 97 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:11,240 We're going to do this in three ways. 98 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,440 This is typical for me. We're going to see that God's 99 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:18,720 judgment is justified. We'll explore that briefly, but 100 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:22,040 we're also going to see then what reconciliation looks like. 101 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:26,600 This text gives us that as well. And then finally we get to 102 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:30,440 understand that there is a home in which we get to remain that 103 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:35,080 will not be taken away from us. So there we are, friends, we're 104 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:36,560 going to get into this fun stuff. 105 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:38,360 You ready? Yes. 106 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:40,400 Well, you have to be, because I'm going to keep talking 107 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:42,280 anyway. It's fine, don't worry about it. 108 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:45,320 So why don't, why don't we start with this? 109 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:47,560 Why is God so angry in the first place? 110 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:51,360 Because you know this text, it says and fire and Chariots and 111 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:54,880 whirlwind and anger and fury and rebuke flames the fire and 112 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:59,120 judgment and all against those who have rebelled against me. 113 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:06,960 Why is God so mad? Well, I'll tell you this, I, I, 114 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,800 I learned how to frame this this week and I can thank our men's 115 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:12,520 group for that because there was a discussion we had on Thursday 116 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,040 night during our men's group that really actually gave me 117 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:17,840 some strange insight into God's judgement. 118 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:19,120 And so let me share that with you. 119 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:23,680 As we talked as a group of men, we were talking about kids and 120 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:27,520 discipline and we were talking about situations and, and how 121 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:31,840 then did we react as fathers? As a father, how do I react when 122 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:35,920 my kids mess up? Well, I can tell you that they 123 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:39,400 have a lot of influence as to how I'm going to react. 124 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:41,120 And all the men in that group agreed. 125 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:44,760 You see, there's, there's two different ways you can go about 126 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:46,880 this. When you mess up kids, just 127 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:51,320 listen, take notes. Two ways you can go about this. 128 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:56,520 You can be contrite, you can be sorrowful, you can be honest. 129 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:03,120 You can just admit what you've done or you can be prideful, you 130 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:06,960 can be arrogant, you can deny, deny, deny all day long. 131 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,640 It wasn't me, it was me, right? You can do that, but you will 132 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:15,120 get 2 very different reactions from your father based on which 133 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:18,680 way you go, right? So I, I can tell you quite 134 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:21,840 personally, when my kids have failed, when they've messed up, 135 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:25,320 whether that was on purpose or not, when that happened, when 136 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:29,160 that has happened to them, man. And they come to me and they're, 137 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:31,840 you know, I kind of feel bad thinking about it, but like, 138 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:35,760 they're kind of dad and man, you know what? 139 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:38,679 That that just breaks my heart almost. 140 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:42,919 It softens my position. Even if I have every reason in 141 00:08:42,919 --> 00:08:45,960 the world to be angry, it really softens my position. 142 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:50,120 And instead of coming down hard with a hammer on them, I'm kind 143 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:52,800 of like, oh, OK, let me take a step back here. 144 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:55,240 Let me check my anger for a second. 145 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:57,680 Because there's something happening in their heart that I 146 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:01,760 need to recognize. However, I've absolutely also 147 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:06,040 had occasions in my household where I know you did a stupid 148 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:08,240 thing. And you know you did a stupid 149 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:12,640 thing, but you're not going to be willing to say it or you say 150 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:14,760 it, but you're like, yeah, but here's the reason. 151 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:16,520 And you try and justify it, and it's terrible. 152 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:19,600 And you know what that does? It just sends me through the 153 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:22,680 roof. It really does. 154 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,160 Moms, dads, I'm sure you've been there. 155 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:28,120 When they try to deny it, when they're dishonest about it, it 156 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:30,120 just makes you want to crush them. 157 00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:33,680 Maybe that's aggressive. Sorry. 158 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:37,360 Good thing you didn't grow up in my house, huh? 159 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:48,280 But here's the thing, Parents, as we do that, as we react one 160 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:52,240 way or the other based on their reactions to sin, man, you know 161 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:55,440 what we're doing? We're actually mimicking God. 162 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,800 We're mimicking Jesus. Because all this talk of 163 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,600 judgment, you have to ask, is it necessary? 164 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:05,560 Why does it come about that way? So let's take Jesus, for 165 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:07,760 example. Let's look at a couple different 166 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:12,120 things. Gosh, the tax collector, Jesus 167 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:15,440 tells this story, this moment about a tax collector who sits 168 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:18,800 in the back of the synagogue and, and, and he doesn't try to 169 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:23,000 justify himself. He just, he pounds his chest and 170 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:27,080 he's so upset with himself. He, he sees the sin of swindling 171 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:30,520 people and it breaks him. So he comes before God. 172 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,120 He is sorrowful. He can't even lift his head to 173 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:35,360 heaven. And Jesus says that man walks 174 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:39,640 away justified. And then there's the woman who's 175 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:44,920 caught in adultery. She's scared, she's sorrowful. 176 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:48,520 She, she would do anything to take it back. 177 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:51,440 And you know what Jesus does with her? 178 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:53,880 You know, the attitude, the posture he takes towards her as 179 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:59,840 she expresses her sad state. Those other people would love to 180 00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:03,080 condemn her. He does not. 181 00:11:03,560 --> 00:11:07,280 He does not condemn her. He looks at her with love and 182 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:11,040 care and he justifies her and lets her walk away. 183 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:16,120 And then last example that I'll give you is, gosh, there's a 184 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:20,160 woman in Luke Chapter 7 and it says that she was a woman of the 185 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:22,000 city. Most scholars believe that means 186 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,120 that she was a prostitute. And what does she do? 187 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:28,400 Jesus is hanging out with some some people and he's had this 188 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:32,960 really important dinner. And she comes and she cries and 189 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:36,760 her, her tears start to wet Jesus's feet and she takes her 190 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:40,320 hair and she dries off Jesus's feet and all the really 191 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:42,240 important self-righteous people around her. 192 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:45,400 Like if you knew who was touching you, you'd have the 193 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:46,960 heebie jeebies you'd get out of here. 194 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:52,600 But that's not it at all. Jesus loves her and he forgives 195 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:56,320 her sin in front of all those super important people who 196 00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:59,080 wouldn't be within 10 yards of her if they didn't have to be. 197 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:02,720 But then there's the other side, right? 198 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:06,480 There's a side where we're not contrite, where we're prideful 199 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:09,400 and we're arrogant. Consider the the scribes and the 200 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:12,760 Pharisees who who in their self-righteous, I know 201 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:15,040 everything. I followed the law perfectly. 202 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:19,360 What does Jesus do to them? He openly in public condemns 203 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:22,400 them to their face with everybody else watching. 204 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:28,600 How embarrassing for them. And then the people who turn 205 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:35,480 God's temple into a place of profit in, in anger, in real 206 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,840 righteous anger, This guy, he takes the tables and he, I'm not 207 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:41,360 actually going to do it. He, but he takes the table and 208 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:44,840 he flips them over. And then he, he's got a, a whip 209 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:48,080 made of cords and he's whipping people out of that temple. 210 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:53,720 And then one more, just in case you're not getting it, the the 211 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:57,520 disciple Peter, Peter tells Jesus, because Jesus kind of 212 00:12:57,520 --> 00:12:59,040 says, here's the game plan friends. 213 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:02,400 And, and, and Peter's like, no, that's not going to happen to 214 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:04,720 you. How does Jesus address him? 215 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:07,640 Get behind me, Satan. You've got the things of man in 216 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:11,120 mind, not the things of God. So do you see it? 217 00:13:11,680 --> 00:13:16,640 Here's the point. The Lord's anger is absolutely 218 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:22,440 justified and his judgement is absolutely justified when he 219 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:26,120 judges us. But do you understand that his 220 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:29,840 judgement of us is not even necessarily going to be about 221 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:32,080 the sin that we've committed? It's not about that. 222 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:35,240 Maybe it's about our reaction to the sin. 223 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:38,960 Because just like a good father, just like a good mother, His 224 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:44,440 reaction will match our reaction when we are sorrowful, when we 225 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:47,440 are contrite, when we are humble, when we confess our 226 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:54,120 sins, God meets us with grace and with mercy and with love and 227 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:57,200 total forgiveness. First, John 19 right? 228 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:02,240 If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to, to, to 229 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:04,720 forgive us of all of our sins and purify us from all 230 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:07,440 unrighteousness because he is a merciful God. 231 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:13,200 Yet when we are hard hearted, when we refuse to own our sin, 232 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:17,040 when we refuse to come to Him, and we refuse to speak the truth 233 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:22,680 in humility and own our stuff, His reaction is going to be that 234 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:25,120 of a very good parent. He is going to come with the 235 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:26,960 hammer. He is going to come with the 236 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:28,400 law. He is going to come with 237 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:31,880 judgement. Which version do you want to 238 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:38,280 meet? Do you realize that the version 239 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:42,200 of God that you will meet is based on your reaction to your 240 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:46,360 sin? Hold on to that. 241 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:52,320 That matters Now as we continue, we have to talk about 242 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:56,800 reconciliation too, because if we are going to come to God with 243 00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:00,240 humble and contrite hearts and we're willing to, to be honest 244 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:03,080 about our sin, well, there's going to be a period of 245 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:08,840 reconciliation. God is just, he's doing this 246 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:11,160 glorious task and he's even doing it right now. 247 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,600 All over the world. God is reconciling people left 248 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:16,320 and right. He's bringing families back 249 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:19,760 together through peace and through the gospel and through 250 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:23,040 good news of forgiveness that knows no bounds. 251 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:28,600 Now, I can tell you that there are dividing lines that we feel, 252 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:32,040 and I think they're mostly fairly obvious in the West. 253 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:35,960 It's usually red or blue, conservative or liberal. 254 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:38,280 In other parts of the world, it's Israel, it's Hamas. 255 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:41,320 And there's all this strife and there's all this anger and 256 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:44,040 frustration. And if you want to bring this 257 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:46,920 really home and you want to make it really personal, it's 258 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:50,440 Christmas. You are probably going to have 259 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:53,240 to be around people that you don't even like. 260 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:56,160 Don't say their names. Don't do that. 261 00:15:57,440 --> 00:15:58,760 But you've got them in your head, right? 262 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:01,000 You're going to be at whatever gatherings, whether that's a 263 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,200 work gathering or, or in somebody's home and and man, 264 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:06,840 you're going to have to be around these people that you're 265 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:10,200 just actually not cool with. But it's Christmas, we're all 266 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:12,720 wearing the sweater. So put on a smile and shut up, 267 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:15,600 right? That's how that goes a lot of 268 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:20,160 times. But what if, what if it didn't 269 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:24,880 have to be that way? Now as I think about this, I 270 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:28,840 have a laundry list of things that just drive me nuts about 271 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,600 people that stop reconciliation from happening. 272 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:34,760 And I'm going to speak generally, but maybe some of 273 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:38,320 these things will hit you. You potentially have the nosy in 274 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:42,200 law that you will meet at this time of year who just refuses to 275 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:45,120 shut their mouth. Maybe. 276 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:50,400 Or maybe it's the the cousin who just like, man, their whole life 277 00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:53,520 is drama and they want to give a little bit of it to you. 278 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:55,480 They want to get you somehow involved in that. 279 00:16:55,680 --> 00:17:01,240 Or maybe you have a parent who just always passive, passive 280 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:03,240 aggressively mistreats your spouse. 281 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:05,599 So that's really fun when you're opening the gifts. 282 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:10,960 And worse perhaps is you have the sibling who looks at all 283 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:14,640 this and he sees it, the ticking time bomb, and they're just 284 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:16,680 always pressing the button because they want to see the 285 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:19,000 reaction. They just love to stir 286 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,560 everything up because man, isn't it fun to watch them argue. 287 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:28,200 These are some of the people that you may run across during 288 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:31,120 the Christmas season. And it's really hard to be in a 289 00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:33,920 home and to feel reconciled and to feel loved and to feel joy 290 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:36,400 and care and peace and all those things that we're supposed to 291 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:37,880 take in during the Christmas season. 292 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:40,160 It's hard. It's difficult with people like 293 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:42,840 that sometimes. And So what do we do about that? 294 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,080 How do we actually create a sense of reconciliation? 295 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:49,480 Well, I want you to consider something. 296 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:54,520 Have you considered it's not about them and maybe it's about 297 00:17:54,520 --> 00:18:03,280 you maybe, maybe in order to have some reconciliation, to 298 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:06,640 have some peace during the holidays, it's going to require 299 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:10,000 you not not, not not them changing. 300 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:11,800 Maybe it's going to require you changing. 301 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:14,160 Have you considered praying for that? 302 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:16,920 It's a challenge really is what I'm giving you. 303 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:21,080 I'm challenging you. I'm begging you because I'll, I 304 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:22,920 know I'll hear stories if you do it. 305 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:27,480 I'm begging you to pray for God to not change their hearts, but 306 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:33,520 to change yours. Because that's the thing, we 307 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:36,680 often times we look at these people who drive us nuts and 308 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:38,920 maybe we only have to be around them once or twice a year, but 309 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:42,000 we dread it. Well, gosh, have you ever 310 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:47,120 thought about asking God to peel away the layers of contention 311 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:50,480 that exist in your own heart? Have you thought about that as 312 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:54,160 an option rather than thinking about how terrible and annoying 313 00:18:54,160 --> 00:19:01,840 they are? The thing is, as we pray that 314 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:04,920 prayer, it's dangerous. It's dangerous because it means 315 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:08,640 you might end up putting up with some things or, or you know, 316 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:11,240 turning the other cheek when normally you would just let them 317 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:14,520 have it because they deserve it. But here's the thing about 318 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:17,520 making a prayer like that, a prayer for reconciliation, a 319 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:18,920 prayer for our own hearts to change. 320 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:24,360 Here's the thing, when we do that, God is going to be 321 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,960 faithful. He is going to be faithful. 322 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:31,440 And that's why it's dangerous and that's why it's challenging 323 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:34,040 because as you pray for your heart to change for these 324 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:36,880 people, God's going to do some work. 325 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:40,200 I'm going to do some real work in you. 326 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:44,320 Now, does that mean that prayer will take this, this home, this 327 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:46,360 these gatherings and make them perfect? 328 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:51,120 No, I am not selling you a bill of goods that won't work because 329 00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:53,040 guess what? You're going to pray and they're 330 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:55,920 still going to be stupid. It's going to happen. 331 00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:02,440 But but how will you receive their stupidity? 332 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:07,840 Because in wisdom, God. Who is changing your heart? 333 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:11,520 Because that's what you're begging for, man. 334 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:13,320 You know what he's going to do. He's going to give you a level 335 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:16,080 of discernment. A level of discernment to know 336 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:19,560 when to speak the law. In other words, when to give the 337 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:22,720 hard truth. And then a level of discernment 338 00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:27,000 when to give grace and when to give mercy and when to show care 339 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,400 despite their flaws. That's how God's going to do it. 340 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:33,800 So I'm going to encourage you. Pray the prayer. 341 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:39,520 Do it, do it, and then you know what you do after you pray that 342 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:44,960 prayer, you leave it alone. Leave it alone. 343 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:48,520 Go get a good night's sleep and just see what God will do with 344 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:51,840 all that. Come back and tell me about it 345 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:57,160 later, maybe. Now let me get to kind of our 346 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:03,680 last point here that Isaiah is pointing at in verse 22 and 23. 347 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,880 This is what he says. For as the new heavens and the 348 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:10,280 new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, 349 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:13,320 so shall your offspring and your name remain. 350 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,760 From new moon to new moon, from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh 351 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:20,800 shall come and worship before me, declares the Lord. 352 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:27,640 I read these verses and I'll be really honest with you. 353 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:30,920 Like it actually makes me a little sad. 354 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:36,560 And that's, that's not the point of these verses, but it makes me 355 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:40,040 a little sad because I have often, I have often times felt 356 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:44,320 like in my life that the best things that I get to experience, 357 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:47,200 all the things that I know are really good, they just don't 358 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:49,520 remain as long as I want them to. 359 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:56,320 And that's difficult to process. You know, the best vacations 360 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:59,600 I've ever been on, all the places I get to, I I've had the 361 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,200 opportunity to travel to. Yeah, that's that's come and 362 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:03,280 gone. That's that's over. 363 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:05,200 That didn't remain. I didn't get to stay there. 364 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:10,920 You know, the money, the money in my account, it goes out at 365 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:13,560 lightning speed. That doesn't remain. 366 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:18,560 My kids, Lord bless them, they are young adults now. 367 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:23,400 They did not remain small, which means that I can't just pick 368 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:27,920 them up whenever I want to and hold them because they're living 369 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:31,440 their lives as we have built them to do. 370 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:37,040 They haven't remained. And then, you know, my body. 371 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:40,440 It also reminds me often, especially when it's really 372 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:41,680 cold. I don't know if anybody else 373 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:43,000 feels that when it's really cold. 374 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:47,480 I can tell I'm getting older. I have not remained the person 375 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:51,400 that I was and relationships, they've been fractured and 376 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:55,840 broken. Even at my best efforts, the 377 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:57,920 relationships didn't remain where they were either. 378 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:06,400 Now I understand it sounds like I'm kind of cynical, kind of a 379 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:08,720 Debbie Downer. Merry Christmas again. 380 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,200 And I don't, I don't mean to be that way. 381 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,560 So what's the hope? How does this actually work? 382 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:21,120 Well, I think these verses, even upon initial reading and even 383 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:26,760 though they they they push something in me, they also, they 384 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:30,480 do give me hope. And they should, they should. 385 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:32,840 Hopefully when we walk out of here today and we see these 386 00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:37,040 again, they will give us hope and they will give us joy and 387 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:40,120 peace. Knowing that there is a space 388 00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:45,720 where which God is guaranteeing a home of love and peace and 389 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:47,560 joy. A place where none of those 390 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:51,680 things ever have to leave. A place of no contention, no 391 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:56,000 contention whatsoever. Only a place where we look at 392 00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:00,000 each other and we can honestly say, brothers and sisters in 393 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:04,480 Christ, whom I deeply love. Now, how does that work? 394 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:06,000 How, how are we going to get there? 395 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:08,280 Well, I can tell you how we're going to get there, how we're 396 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,320 going to be able to remain in that home kind of by telling you 397 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:15,000 a part of the Christmas story. That's how we can figure this 398 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:19,640 out. So God was not content to let us 399 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:23,160 live without hope or live without freedom. 400 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,360 He was not content to leave us where we were, praise the Lord. 401 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:33,120 But because he was not content to do that, He told his son, You 402 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:37,000 are no longer allowed to remain with me in heaven. 403 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:39,760 I need you to go dwell with them. 404 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:46,440 And dwell with us He did. He was born in our likeness. 405 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:50,960 He was born in our shape. Yet He was different, wasn't he? 406 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:54,920 Because The thing is that sin that so deeply affects us and 407 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:58,360 messes up our relationship and causes us not to be able to go 408 00:24:58,360 --> 00:25:01,600 to God in honesty, all those things, all those schemes of the 409 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:05,040 devil, he remained faithful to God. 410 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:09,200 He remains sinless in all of his work, in all of his days, so 411 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:14,680 that he might take our place. And, and in that he, he remained 412 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:19,840 steadfast as they beat him and they cursed him. 413 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:25,680 He remained steadfast in that, and he remained strong as they 414 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:30,800 were nailing him to a cross. He remained faithful to the call 415 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,720 of God in his life. And then even as God turned his 416 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:41,400 back on him, his own father, he remained in love because they, 417 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:43,560 they chided him. They told him like, hey, come on 418 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:46,240 down, Savior, why don't you go ahead and do it? 419 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:50,280 And He could have, but He didn't. 420 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:54,920 He remained on the cross for you and for me. 421 00:25:55,360 --> 00:25:57,000 And then here's the best part of all of it. 422 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:02,960 He remained God by coming out of the tomb three days later. 423 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,400 He has remained God even in death. 424 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:08,440 He has brought himself back to life. 425 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:11,880 He lays down his life of his own accord and he picks it up of his 426 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:14,160 own accord. That is Jesus Christ our King. 427 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:17,960 And because he has remained God through life and through death, 428 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:22,080 that means we get to come home and we get to remain with God. 429 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:25,960 We get to remain in a place where sin and death no longer 430 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:28,160 kill and destroy us. It doesn't break our 431 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:30,520 relationships. It actually gives us a home to 432 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:33,280 stay in permanently. This is what God does. 433 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:36,120 It allows us to remain because He left. 434 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:42,600 Praise the Lord, it is so good that He left so that we can stay 435 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:47,200 friends. I'm telling you this Christmas 436 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:51,440 season like I man, I want you to remain in peace. 437 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:56,480 I want you to remain in joy and all of those things happen not 438 00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:58,360 because of our outside circumstances. 439 00:26:58,360 --> 00:27:03,240 They all happen just so when we, when we remain in Christ, Amen. 440 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:08,760 Let's pray our Father in heaven, it is so good to be in your 441 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:11,640 presence. It is good to be in your word. 442 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:17,520 But all the more, Lord, it is better for us that you are in us 443 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:22,320 through your Holy Spirit. Father, I pray this morning that 444 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:26,720 Your Word would dwell richly in us, that we would take it with 445 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:29,120 us, that it would impact our heads and our hearts and come 446 00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:33,120 out through our mouths, especially during this time of 447 00:27:33,120 --> 00:27:37,000 year when we have opportunities to speak to people and to talk 448 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:40,760 to people about You or don't. Give us safety. 449 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:45,680 Give us boldness and courage to speak Your truth about judgment, 450 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:49,640 but also to speak Your truth about grace and mercy that is 451 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:51,520 extended through your Son Jesus Christ. 452 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:55,760 Father, in all these ways we trust you that you will do your 453 00:27:55,760 --> 00:28:00,000 best work in and through us for our good and for your glory. 454 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:03,880 So Lord, we pray these things in Jesus name, Amen. 455 00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:11,520 Thanks for listening to ERC Sundays. 456 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:14,000 To support the work God is doing at Emmaus Rd. 457 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,920 Church, visit emmausrdonline.org/giving.