Sermon Synopsis for December 02, 2007

“Getting Ready for Christmas” Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 24:36-44

“Do not open until Christmas” reads the tag for the wrapped gift I had for the children. They wanted to open it, but were willing (with my insistence) that we should wait. I asked them what they wanted to receive for Christmas. There were plenty of responses that included things I had no idea about what they were.

Sometimes we receive things we really don’t want, but we find that we enjoy them. Just the same, it’s hard to wait.

Mrs. Noah came for a visit. She talked about how God asked them to build an ark, but she wasn’t convinced at first. When everything was over, she was glad that God asked them to do this, but it wasn’t what they wanted at the time.

What do you want for Christmas? Certainly not a flood.

I’m sure you’ve heard the story …
A flood was on its way, forcing everyone to evacuate. The police rowed up to the most pious woman in town and said, "Ma'am, you have to leave this house! People are dying out here!"
The woman replied, "No, I'm not leaving. God has always helped me before, and He will do it again."
So as the water started to rise, she went to the second story of her house. Another boat came by, and the captain yelled, "Ma'am, you have to get on this boat or you're going to drown!"
The woman replied again, "No, God helped me before, and He will do it again."
The water rose even higher. This time she went to the top of the roof, where a helicopter came and hovered overhead. The pilot called into his loudspeaker, "Please climb aboard, ma'am. You are going to drown!"
The women sniffed and again replied, "God is going to save me!"
But the water rose higher, and soon she drowned to death. She went to Heaven, and there she asked God, "Why didn't you save me, O Lord?"
And God replied, "I did help--I sent you two boats and a helicopter!"

Mrs. Noah told us ….
Be ready and wait for God’s word and be listening when God speaks

Jesus told the disciples (Matthew 24:37) “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man …
People were eating, drinking and having weddings – life as normal, but they were (are) caught off guard – they were (are) not ready. Maybe it’s because we are expecting something different?

It’s not always a miraculous thing:
-not a king coming in power to liberate his people
-not headline news
-not a liberating army of angels
Maybe it’s just:
-a troubled pregnancy
-among the working class poor
-from a remote part of the world
-a baby born in a barn in an obscure town
-a grass roots movement with a few thousand followers at best
-an innocent man given the death penalty
-a small group of untrustworthy people who saw a man risen from the dead

It’s not what we expect; it’s not always what we want.
If my plan was to save the world, I’d do it very differently.

But I’ve learned that it’s not my way, but thy way, Oh Lord.
(“Thy way or the highway?”)

God’s ways are often mysteries to us.
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Basically the Scriptures asks us:
Do I want to do things … my way … or … God’s way.

Isaiah had a vision of “the last days.”

It counteracts many of Israel’s ideas about what God wanted to do.

Isaiah 2:2 “all the nations will stream to it.” That is, the Lord’s Temple, which the Apostle Paul tells us is us, the church (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Salvation is not just for the Jews, everyone is invited to come to the Lord.

Isaiah 2:4 “he will settle disputes for many peoples (nations)” This implies that they will be a people and place that seeks peace for all.

Isaiah 2:4 “they will beat their swords into plowshares … Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”
Israel tried to be a tremendous war machine. They learned that God doesn’t win by might or power, but by God’s Spirit.

This was a very different vision than the people had. In Isaiah’s day, the godly king Hezekiah heeded God’s word, he had a vision of God’s eternal future, and he was able to defend Judah against the mighty King Sennacherib of Assyria – not with implements of war, but with wisdom from the Lord and trust in the Lord (see 2 Chronicles 29 to 32)

Hezekiah had a decision to make – believe in God’s word or trust the political advisors of his day.

Do we follow Jesus no matter what others say?

Let me tell you a story … a very personal story, and one of the worst times of my life.
12 years ago (November 1995), I was Director of a Seminary in Cochabamba, Bolivia. I was director because of internal strife of different ethnic groups; we had few students. Each year we send the students to “obra práctica” (field education) for 3 months. That year Bolivian missionary Santiago Flores took some of the students to the isolated countryside beyond the mountains south of Cochabamba. They were going up the mountain road from Quillacollo to Morochata in an old short-cabin land cruiser; it was burdened down with people, literature and luggage. In the early afternoon it went over a cliff (more than 500 feet – about a 40 story building). Two of the survivors climbed up the cliff, a truck stopped and took them to Quillacollo where they called me.

We organized a rescue team and went up the mountain. The motor was the largest piece of the vehicle. We recovered the bodies and began the terrible job of notifying the families. The survivors spent a long time in the hospital. I was the one who accepted responsibility for the well being of the students.

The Seminary was in a crisis, and then this happened.

I asked, “God, where are you? Why are you allowing this to happen?”

After the funerals we were faced with a grim future for the seminary. What could we do? No one would want their children or family member to study for ministry; they were a bit superstitious.

Our plan? Pray. (Not very creative)
We prayed; we encouraged other Christians to pray; we visited churches and regions throughout Bolivia to ask them to pray.

Each year we never know how many students will show-up (communication is not always the best). The first week of classes, in mid-February, over 70 new students (much more than we could handle), God responded.

Things didn’t work out like I wanted them to. I was going to turn that Seminary around but I learned that God had to do it.

ARE YOU READY FOR CHRISTMAS
How do you prepare for the Christmas holiday?
Cards? Decorations? Cookies?
Yesterday I took boxes of decorations and wrapping paper out of closet and we began our joyous journey into our annual Christmas celebration.

Matthew 24:42 tell us, “Therefore keep watch;” 24:44 “be ready.”

When God sent Jesus into the world, few were ready, few believed the message, few accepted what God had done.

How about you?

BEING READY FOR CHRISTMAS HAS TO DO WITH RELATIONSHIP
Jesus taught about the last days:
Matthew 24:40-41 “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.”

Whether you go with Jesus or stay behind depends on your relationship with God.

We need to accept Jesus into our lives; just as God came into the world, he keeps coming into the lives of many people – it’s Christmas all over again.

It also has to do with your relationship with others.

This is the tragic part of the story to me – these aren’t just strangers, these are people we know and love.

Two men in the field – co-workers
Do your co-workers know Jesus?

Two women grinding with a hand mill – probably family, sisters or mother – daughter
Does your family know Jesus?

Are you ready for Christmas?

CONCLUSION
What are we going to choose?
What I want for Christmas? Or
What God wants for me for Christmas?

Jesus said, “Keep watch, be ready.”

We need to humble ourselves
Writer of Chronicles wrote (2 Ch 7:14), “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

We need to trust that God knows better than us.

We can get ready for Christmas by
-being humble as we approach our salvation
-Seeking God and God’s will
-being open to what God wants to say to us