PRINCE OF PEACE

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good.  

Isaiah 7:13-15

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

Our Prince of Peace restructured the heart of humanity and therefore changed and lit the whole world. This sermon curates some of the highlights of His life in order to help you restore or retain the peace He offers you.

Though it could be reasonably argued that there are faults in elements of celebration of the Christmas season, if Jesus is the center of them all, the purpose of the day, then a blessed season it will be.

• PRINCE OF PEACE

“I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
A Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, ...
Numbers 24:17

The birth of Jesus was prophesied of in the Old Testament. Jesus is the obvious star of the New Testament, but God intended from the beginning for a messiah to arrive, align and heal His children.

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Isaiah 9:6-7

Indeed, Jesus has always been our story. We are loved thoroughly by God; He realized from before our first breath that we would require such qualities as Jesus would possess in order to spiritually survive and thrive. Let's think about those qualities listed in the ninth chapter of Isaiah more deeply:

Jesus is called Wonderful. The original word was "Pele" and means a miracle, a marvelous thing; wonder, marvel. Jesus is the miracle so many pray for and few actually see. He is the answer to every prayer, the strength for every weakness, the balm for every wound, the hope for every situation, the light of every life, the love for every heart. The wonder of Jesus is that a relationship with Him compensates for any lack a person could ever have. 

Jesus is called Counselor. A lifelong conversation with Jesus is a prayerful life. He is present, vigilant and available for consult each moment of our day or night. Because He is so aware of every detail of our situation, and so very familiar with us as unique individuals, He is able to provide specific, tailored advice. He powerfully, subtly, leads us toward the answer we need. To welcome the presence and counsel of Jesus into your your heart, your life and your situation is to be given the objective perspective and divine-strength necessary to proceed with purposeful wisdom.

Jesus is called Mighty God. Our Messiah is a multifaceted entity... praise God. Praise God because while Jesus is gentle and kind and wonderful, He is also a powerful authority. We require a powerful authority to confront the tenacious corruption of our enemies. We need a God who is gentle and fierce. We need a good Who is as wonderful to us as He is frightening to our adversaries. 

Jesus is called Everlasting Father. We need a God who is a father. We need Him to love us and discipline us. We need Him to raise us well and also rest us thoroughly. We need a God who is a shelter, a haven, a home. And we need Him forever. In God and Jesus we have steadfast presence and loyalty, such that we could never receive from any other source.

Jesus is called Prince of Peace. In the tumult of a world of people and a body of emotions we sometimes cannot understand or endure, we have the peace of Jesus. Our relationship with Jesus provides the hope and remembrance we need when we forget that difficulty and darkness are temporary. Jesus' peace soothes us as we remember God's plan, which Jesus brought to us, in order to assure us that there is purpose and order and justice in life. The greatest peace is knowing that God is in control and has a righteous, compassionate, restorative plan that is in the works this very moment!

• AN ANGEL ARRIVED

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” 

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. For with God nothing will be impossible.” 

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:30-35;37-38

God's sense of humor cannot be denied; it is especially noticeable when He reveals an aspect of His plan to one of His children. He is always able to baffle and astound because His plans consistently exceed our limitations. Jesus' birth is our reminder that God has grand plans within our own lives that are not subject to any rules, norms or possibilities.

Mary is our reminder to always consent when God offers to run the course of our life in accordance with His word. For God certainly chooses us for tasks we would, not unreasonably, deem too lofty for our own capabilities. And they would be too big for us without Him. It is only through firm, focused faith that we able to keep our lives on the course of God's will.

The birth of Jesus through Mary, of the Holy Spirit, is extraordinary especially in that it is the melding of the natural world as we know it with the super-natural, spiritual world Jesus has taught. In no other moment had humanity been so-joined with God than in the birth of Jesus. Our former brothers-and-sisters-in-faith did not have Jesus as we have Him now. The Holy Spirit had not yet permeated the hearts of any who called upon it. We have continuous, persistent, intimate connection with God. It was such unprecedented and joyous a moment that a multitude of angels and the glory of the Lord were present (Luke 2:9;13).

Together they celebrated the gift we now have today, this precise moment and its immediate and even everlasting future.

• BLESSED ARE THEY

Baby Jesus grew up and with His ministry redesigned the whole philosophy of the earth. In various ways, He taught the opposite of what the system of the world had been teaching, introducing such concepts as humility and mercy and servitude.

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted. 

Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled. 

Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy. 

Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God. 

Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.  

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:1-10

Jesus taught the shocking message that it was actually the weak who were strong, the lowly who were exalted and the hungry who were fed. Jesus taught the concept of "we reap what we sow" and suddenly it was wise to invest and participate in the well-being of others. He shifted humanity's perspective in a manner which would enable the little and lowly of the world to be seen and valued, and cared for. 

Jesus taught us that if our primary pursuit was the kingdom of God, there would be progressive purpose in everything that we do and more than sufficient provision to do it, (most specifically noted in Matthew 6:33). Jesus' message rendered the former way obsolete and even regressive. It could no longer be thought that it was prudent to disregard the meek and needy. Self-promotion and progression by any means necessary in order to be wealthy and recognized as prominent, no longer held logic since Jesus taught that God's eyes were on those who gave more than they had and held no esteemed position in society. 

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp-stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-15

Moreover, Jesus gave us purpose when He revealed to us to our influence. Jesus gave us value when He revealed that God trusted us to make an impact here with our words and behavior. We may have once believed ourselves to be too minuscule to matter, our lives too happenstance for purpose, but because of Jesus we cannot think that anymore; we have been taught otherwise.

• SON OF THE FATHER

Jesus taught us a valuable lesson in His temporary death and the events that led up to it: his message was contrary to the world and therefore was rejected by it (John 15:19). Changing our lifestyle in accordance with God's will would definitely make us popular with God, and would just as definitely make us peculiar to the world (and thus unpopular in it). 

There was an opportunity for Jesus to be released from prison before the crucifixion, but He was not released, because had a message for us.

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 

But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!” Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” 

Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!” When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.”

And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.

Matthew 27:15-16;20-26

Jesus, though innocent, took the place of the guilty man... and continues to do so each and every time someone professes themselves to God. He lived and died and resurrected in order that we would receive the message that gives eternal life. We are not condemned to death because He has earned our eligibility redemption.

Jesus is referred to as 'Son of God' and the guilty man's name, Barabbas, means son of the father. We are all children of God, but who do we recognize as our father? Jesus revealed that we have a good Father in Heaven, the Father of righteousness. Barabbas had chosen to be a child, a product of unrighteousness. Jesus preferred a Father, a family and even the repentant sinners were welcomed into it; it was in Jesus' heart even to forgive the ignorant (Luke 23:34).

Jesus' life and death and resurrection provided us with a choice: will we accept our place as a child of God?

• PEACE I GIVE TO YOU 

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

John 14:15-18

“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’

John 14:25-28

We celebrate Jesus' birth because since before even the moment of conception, He has been our advocate. Jesus is spiritually present, but because of His physical absence, He knew that we would need support. In the Holy Spirit, we have it. We have Him. We have an intangible, inexplicably, but undeniable, comfort, provision and power that sustains and propels us. 

All we have to do to receive it is to welcome Him into ourselves, our lives, our thoughts, choices and actions. And why wouldn't we? Jesus offers the sweetest peace and promise. 

 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

John 14:12-14

Within the will of God is an extraordinary place to be because possibility is endless. Within His ancient and established, everlasting kingdom are new glories, fresh inspirations, unprecedented occurrences. The Prince of Peace connected us to the God of vitality and proliferation. Our creator is a masterful artist and architect who gives attention to the details of the details of life. If you are able to dream of and pray for anything which enhances your little portion the Kingdom, God is able to do it. Trust Him to do it and deliver it in the time and material and way that He decides is best. Let God's will enhance your dream.

Finally, if you need a reminder of how to serve God this season, listen to Jesus' parting advice. It's simple.

...“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
John 14:23

And if the boisterous demands of the season are draining your peace, distracting you from the purpose of the season, and causing you to feel feebly alone, remember that you have never been alone.

"I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20

WHOM SAY YE?

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Matthew 16:13-15 

An instrumental element of the disciples' training was to witness Jesus encounter and respond to His adversaries. Two religious groups called the Pharisees and Sadducees challenged everything Jesus said and did. Some questions are conscientious in nature, and are welcomed by God. He does not want or expect blind faith; God wants us to choose Him based our understanding and agreement with the principles He stands for. Conscientious questions diligently seek truth. 

But other questions are contentious in nature, seek no truth, but endeavor instead to discredit any other principles than the ones that uphold the person's authority, status or wealth. Understand that the Pharisees and Sadducees hounded Jesus with their, oftentimes nonsensical, disapproval because His authority threatened their ability to retain their own (which was considerable). They had a lot of power and influence... and wealth, and the more people that joined Jesus' righteous  congregation, the more people left their corrupt one. 

It was after one such confrontation that Jesus asked His disciples: Who do men say that I am? Who do you say that I am? Jesus wanted them to be perceptive about the atmosphere around them while also able to discern their own thoughts. At worst Jesus' adversaries declared Him to be a blasphemous fraud (John 10:33-38). At best, they declared Him to be a prophet, rather than an authority made and established by God. And though some admitted that He was at least a prophet, we know from scripture that prophets were not highly regarded (after all, Elijah was sentenced to death, his fellow-prophets gathered and systematically killed, and Jeremiah was threatened, mocked, and imprisoned). 

The point is that there are a lot of opinions in the world about God's existence and character. People will have different motives, barriers and reasons for their beliefs or lack thereof.  Indeed you and the world will often have conflicting declarations about God; therefore Jesus wants you to be able to discern between the two voices: your own and the world's. Because the voice you listen to will propel you through life. He wants you to have your own, fully informed declaration because what you declare will matter and hinder or assist in the course of your life.

• THE FOOL IN HIS HEART

The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt,
They have done abominable works,
There is none who does good.

Psalm 14:1 

A portion of the world is agnostic, undecided or unsure about the existence God. Another portion staunchly disbelieve and oppose the philosophy of God; Psalm 14 refers to this portion. Everyone has encountered such a person as described in the first verse of the Psalm: a person who, usually callously, denies the existence of God and uses that presumed-absence for their own corrupt lifestyle.

In fact, the denial of God can prove quite convenient to a selfish and/or deceptive person. For the denial of God is also the denial of an established system of justice and of repercussion as well. In such a world, a person would be free to pursue any desire by any means. There are no limits to their behavior, no need to modify of soften their words. They can ignore the conscious and also their responsibility to humanity. 

Even people who say or believe that they believe in God sometimes act in negligence of God's commandments. When Jesus asked his disciples: whom do you say that I am? He meant: whom do you declare that I am? Because a declaration has depth and commitment attached to it. "Believers" are just as surely breaking God's commandments when they neglect to follow them as non-believers are. So when Jesus says: who do you say that I am? It needs to be a question we can readily, confidently answer because otherwise, we are probably not adhering meticulously enough to what we say we subscribe to.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were supposed-believers in God, but corrupt motivations altered the purpose of their faith and therefore the quality and validity of it as well. Was each member of each group consciously aware of their deviation from pure and righteous faith? Probably not. If we are not careful, we can lose the objectivity, impartiality, humility, and selflessness God's word teaches us to have and retain. Our own motivations can cause us to steadily disengage from genuine, fastidious faith.

When we say that we believe in God, we need to know what precisely it is that we believe about Him. God has established commandments and made promises, He has explained truths and prophesied eventualities. He has made decisions, chosen paths and people, created, destroyed, esteemed, demeaned... He has done and declared so much and we need to know all about all of it in order to truly be able to say who He is. 

Without a comprehensive understanding of who God is, there is foolishness in the heart. For if God is not occupying every space in your heart, you are like this fool spoken of, as there are places in your heart where there is no God.

• BECAUSE HE HAS HEARD

I love the Lord, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.

The pains of death surrounded me,
And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me;
I found trouble and sorrow.
Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

For You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
I will walk before the Lord
In the land of the living.
I believed, therefore I spoke, ...

Psalm 116:1-10 

Contrarily, a steadfast relationship with God results in a life comprised of the same informed faith expressed in Psalm 116. The Psalmist is able to declare their believe in God based on concrete experience with Him. This Psalmist's faith is quality because it is familiar with God who God is.

The Psalmist declared love of God because God listened to Him. In order for God to hear and listen to the Psalmist, the Psalmist must have first spoken and trusted that God would answer. The Psalmist declared trust in God because he was surrounded and captured then freed and delivered by God. In order to be freed and delivered, he must first have called on God and believed in His refuge. He was able to rest in the bounty of blessing... but could not have done so if His faith had not provided an avenue through which those blessings came! He was given life, dried of tears, and upheld in when walking and therefore He believed and spoke of God. What he believed and what he said were in alignment, and of quality, because he knew God, had developed a relationship with Him.

A personal relationship with God is different from the type of faith the Pharisees and Sadducees had. They understood God as the God of Moses, of Abraham and David. They understood Him as the God of commandments and religious traditions, rather the present, continuous spirit existing with us now, even in this exact moment. 

In scripture we have the books of various people: Samuel, Matthew, Timothy, etc. We do not see our own book, with our own name, written in ink within the Bibles pages but we have one. When we endeavor to know God, trust Him and follow Him, we have moments in our own story when He, essentially, enables us to walk on and through water. We have our own experiences of being delivered from fear and enemy. We have our own prayers heard and answered, our own tears dried and bodies upheld. How we live in faith determines what our story says: are we like the people who never called, who never asked, who never sought? Or are we like Abraham and Moses and David who were, like all people, flawed and sometimes fearful but who, like few people, knew Who to trust with those things?

You see, someone who knows God knows that Moses was not the only one whose sea was split. Joseph was not the only one freed from prison. Shadrach, Mehsach and Abednego were not the only ones to survive a fire. It was not only that one woman who met Jesus by the well. And therefore when that someone-who-truly-knows-God is asked by Jesus: whom do you say I am? They have a definite answer corroborated by actual, tangible experience.

• KEYS OF THE KINGDOM

Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 16:16-17

Simon Peter answered and according to Jesus, correctly and authentically. Simon Peter did not just say the correct answer. His genuine, fastidious faith caused God to reveal that correct answer in his heart. He knew who God was not because it was taught but because it was earned, garnered steadily through a committed relationship with Him.

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 16:18-19 

When you know God you receive the keys to His kingdom... the refuge, the haven, the fortress, the storehouses of blessing. Because by endeavoring to know God, you have committed yourself to love and righteousness.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

1 John 4:7-8 

If you know God, He knows it is because you tailored your lifestyle to His principles. If you tailored your life to His principles, you determined yourself to evermore become kind and generous, patient and merciful, observant and humble, just and compassionate, studious in His word and obedient to His will. And if you lived a life so closely connected with Him, He is pleased to know you as well and to give you the kingdom:

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Luke 12:32

Jesus wanted to disciples to be aware of their own heart's voice so that they could disentangle it from the world. Amid the opinions, rumors, disagreements and declarations around you, endeavor to have and live your own. Jesus' asks, 'Whom do you say that I am?' we who know Him say, 'you're the One, Christ, the Son of God, who met me by the well.'

EYES ON YOU, II

In the face of fear, a person often thinks: "How can I possibly survive this?"  But a person who proclaims themselves to be a child of God, does not ask "How can I possibly survive this?"  They ask: "How could I possibly not?" For a child of God rests on the reassurance that is the character and quality and capability of God. Part 2 of this 2 part sermon places us squarely in 2 Chronicles 20, in the heat of a man named Jehoshaphat's trouble. 

Jehoshaphat was king over the kingdom of Judah... and that kingdom was surrounded. Enemies from several sectors were amassed against it; in both strength and number these enemies overpowered little Judah. The situation was so dire, the enemies so near to swarming, that Jehoshaphat had no choice but to be completely honest with himself, his kingdom and his God: "For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do,..." 

From Jehoshaphat we learn that it is actually a strength to recognize when an enemy is too strong for you. It is actually wise to acknowledge that you do not know what to do. For it would be weak of Jehoshaphat to pretend or convince himself and others that he had the strength to succeed when he knew he did not; it would be foolish for Jehoshaphat to enter a battle when he knew he did not have a plan. So Jehoshaphat did the strong and wise thing and admitted in faith his weakness and ineptitude. He told God, "I do not know what to do... but my eyes are upon You. Let's speak that with the necessary emphases: I do not know what to do, but my eyes are on You.

There will be times in life when we do not know what to do, but if we know enough to look to God, we know enough. When from our perspective a situation is impossible, it is time adjust our stance, to look from the perspective of faith, not sight. For from the perspective of faith, all things are possible, Matthew 19:26. With our eyes on God, a path comes into focus, leading us through the battle and directly into Him.

• HOW COULD I NOT?

It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them...came to battle against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea... And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

The first thing we need to do in the face of fear is remember the character of our God and that is precisely what Jehoshaphat, and the kingdom of Judah with him, did:

“O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?

Our enemy, whatever or whoever it is, will probably be strong... it might even be stronger than we are but it is definitely not stronger than God. It's power is not as strong as God's, nor is it as comprehensive. For God's reign is over the whole earth, and the full range and variety of forces in the world. Yet not only does God have power over all, He is incomparably skilled in that power. God has been driving His children's enemies away since the very first enemy sprouted.

If we are going to rely on God, we need to know those things. We need to be familiar with the battles and the ways He has already won. We can't put our faith in the three letter word "God", we need to put our faith in the actual spirit of God... and we cannot do that if we do not know Him. No matter how much we try, we cannot rely on someone we have not built a relationship with. We might be able to muster up some hope... but that will falter when the day becomes dark and road starts to incline. No, without a personal, intimate, authentic, steadfast, steadily built, relationship with God, we will not be able to rely on Him. Not because He is unreliable but because our faith would be.

When we build a relationship with God, we begin to understand and also experience His Hand in our lives. It is then not only easier, but also more productive, for us to ask ourselves  "In what way could we possibly lose?" when the One Who fights on our behalf cannot be defeated? Why waste time stressing about the several things that could go wrong when we have One firm promise that they will go right?

• THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS

"Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you..."

Every time we flip an ounce of fear into faith, we divest our enemy of a weapon. Indeed we disarm them when we arm ourselves with faith. Jehoshaphat instructed the citizens of Judah to position their stance... not for a better position from which to fight, but a better vantage point from which to watch God fight on their behalf. All of Judah stood before the Lord in faith rather than cowering away from their situation in fear.

Therefore they had positioned themselves to be receptive to God's answer to their admission of weakness and prayer for help. They received the answer they needed to breathe again:

 "Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s... You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”

How would we receive that beautiful answer, any answer, that peaceful reassurance if we do not stand before God in anticipation of it? Can such intimate conversation occur between two strangers? Two distant strangers? You can't call God if you don't know His phone number, so to speak. And if you haven't familiarized yourself with Him, you won't recognize His voice if He calls you. You probably won't even pick up the phone. 

All of that to say, the only way we truly would be able to stop worrying at God's command is if we truly trusted that what He says is true: that He is with us, that we need not fear, and that He will fight our battle.

But if we have developed a relationship with God... what an answer. What a blessing for God to take control. God stands in for us; He volunteers for trial by combat in order to free us from the sword. He is all at once comprehensively around us: beside us and fighting for us. And then He... always... wins. 

To be able to rely on God in such a situation as Jehoshaphat and Judah were in, surrounded by a stronger more savvy enemy, is the pinnacle of faith. You probably do not have several nations' armies marching against you... you're probably not a king. But your enemy is just as real, just as fierce. Your addiction, depression, your illness, your emotional or physical pain, your loneliness or confusion or hopelessness or whatever it is is just as real... and just as weak as any enemy we set before God.

• THE VALLEY OF BERACHAH "BLESSING" 

Instead of crying in fear of the enemy, they sang in praise of the Lord. They praised before the victory because even though it had not happened yet, victory was ensured the moment God had spoken it. Faith is the tunnel through which we receive blessing and the landing pad on which it arrives. Believe in a big victory, receive one. The bigger our faith, the bigger our blessing because as we hand more and more over to God, more and more is subject to His will. And God's will for His children is blessing. He waits to be invited as an authority over the details of your life... so that the details of your life become subject to His strength and wisdom. God will not take our will away; but when we pray for His will to override our own, suddenly every detail is tailored for blessing.

God won that battle for Jehoshaphat and Judah. Not only were they not destroyed by it, they gained from it. Only God can so perfectly arrange for us to benefit from situations and people that plotted to harm us. With God on the battle field, we will always reap from it valuable things and lessons and opportunities we would have missed if we tried to fight on our own. That defeated army left behind all kinds of valuables which gladdened and reinforced the kingdom of Judah. They therefore named that place The Valley of Berachah, the valley of blessing. 

Indeed it was a blessed place. We stand in a blessed place, wherever we are, when we stand before God in faith. The strength of God on behalf of His children became known to the nations around them. Suddenly little Judah did not appear so weak, and neither will you. The kingdom became quiet with rest all around. They were at peace... not because they managed to outmaneuver their enemy but because God had. They kept their eyes on God instead of the enemy, instead of on the boisterous wind, and they resulted in victory.

In the midst of the battle, in the middle of a tumultuous sea, fix your eyes on God.

EYES ON YOU, I

Everybody wants to walk on water. Everybody wants to walk on water, but walking on water metaphorically, requires the same amount of extraordinary strength and coordination it would require literally. If we want to have the type of extraordinary blessings that "walking on water" implies, we need to build the spiritual muscle and coordination skills to do it. In part 1 of this 2-part sermon, we explore Matthew 8:23-27 and Matthew 14:22-33 to understand what it takes to walk on water into miraculous blessing.

• WALKING ON WATER 

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

In the fourth watch of the night, water sloshed in darkness against the disciples' boat in the middle of the sea. Quietly, Jesus walked across those waters to meet them. When the disciples noticed the figure approach, they were astonished to the point of fear. They had never witnessed power so strong it could defy the laws of nature. 

Jesus announced His presence, but before they would allow themselves to be mollified, indeed before the fear would dissipate, Peter responded: "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." For Peter knew from his recent and intensive course with Jesus that only He was capable of such power; if it was Jesus, Peter knew that he would be made able to walk on the water. Such an expression of faith it was! Peter knew that he could identify his Lord by the power He held. He knew that only Jesus was capable of answering affirmatively to impossible requests. Jesus answered simply: "Come." And Peter climbed down from the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. 

Most of us make it to this stage of the desire to walk on water; that is, we all ask God to help us to do that seemingly impossible thing we have been praying and striving for. We are all willing to take that first step of simply asking. And it is not a small thing, that first step. Truly it is an accomplishment in faith to direct a prayer to God rather to some other thing. We could be asking any other source to help us, like the secular world does, but we have chosen to ask God. Unfortunately, most of us then make the same mistake Peter then made.

• BOISTEROUS WIND

The faith was short lived... for when he noticed the wind was boisterous, Peter became afraid and then began to sink. Like Peter, we all put our first, faithful foot forward, but before the second foot lands, our faith falters. Instead of keeping his eyes on Jesus, Peter looked at the tumult the wind caused. He looked at the bobbing boat, the stirred up waters. He looked at the chaos and the chaos got its grip on him; suddenly he was wet, subject to the whim of the tumultuous wind. 

Why don't we realize that extraordinary blessing will require extraordinary faith? How can we expect to walk steadily toward a blessing if we are not walking steadfastly in faith? If we want to walk on water, we need to make that request to God; if we want to keep walking on water, we need to develop the faith to do it. As we work, wait, and pray toward blessing, we need to keep our eyes on God. We need to burrow deep in scripture in order to receive the guidance and reassurance, instruction and discipline from God required to obtain the blessing.

It's easy to become distracted by the boisterous wind. There are constant and fierce and fearsome distractions in life. We must choose to look at the Creator rather than the destroyer. Why should destruction hold our attention when our God's strength is mightier than its? Circumstances, relationships, opportunities and so much more in life might falter, fail or even end but with eyes on God, we are directed away from becoming the debris of those storms.

Peter was fine, firm on the water when he looked toward Jesus in order to meet up with him. Realize this crucial detail: the wind did not start when Peter began to walk. The wind had already been blowing destructively... but it did not matter, it did not effect Peter until Peter took his eyes off of Jesus. He did not even notice the wind while he was engaged in conversation with Jesus! We do not get wet in the storm when we stand with Jesus in the center of it. When we give the winds our fear, they suck out our faith. We become so focused on the turmoil that we neglect to use the tools God built in us to endure the storm. 

How could we ever endure it, if in giving our attention to the storm, we neglect to remember to use the arsenal of spiritual weapons which enable us to survive it? Strength and discipline, prayer and hope, wisdom and faith... righteousness and compassion, two actions which reap what they sow! 

• LORD, SAVE ME

But as he sank into the dark waters, Peter remembered Jesus' presence and power and willingness to save and cried out: "Lord, save me!" And through Peter's faith, Jesus swooped in to support: "And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him..."  We need to remember that our God is present and powerful... and willing to save. Our Father in heaven knows us so well; He knows that we will break our gaze of faith and falter in fear. Therefore He has made Himself receptive to our calls for help. When we call to God in earnest faith, there is no delay in His answer. Scripture uses the word "immediately" to describe the speed in which Jesus reached out to catch Peter. We need to train ourselves in faith to automatically call out to God as soon as we lose our balance on the water, as soon as we lose Him in our line of sight.

When they climbed into the boat, Jesus asked Peter: "...why did you doubt?" He was genuinely curious. Why don't we believe, though many of us say that we do, that God is capable of keeping us afloat? Is it because we start to sink and instead of blaming our brittle faith we blame God?

Faith is a mighty thing. A small but compact word, dense with spiritual tools we build and sharpen throughout our lives. Faith is the comprehensive tool we need to wield throughout life if we plan to walk on water. There will be wind on the water and it will not always be easier to keep our eyes trained on God. In order to actually do it, to keep our eyes on God, we need to develop a relationship of familiarity and trust in God. We need to know (soul-deep) Who He is, what He has promised, and what He is capable of in order to rely on those things while on the sea in the storm. 

• YOU OF LITTLE FAITH 

"Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” Matthew 14:23-25

We are not always aware of God's consciousness, even true believers. As beautiful and unique and indescribable as those moments of awareness of His presence are... they are also intermittent, sometimes even rare. There would be no need for faith if we sailed our little ship with a conscious Jesus at the helm and in sight. Let 2 Corinthians 5:7 remind us that we walk by faith, not by sight. It might appear sometimes that God is sleeping...if we allow ourselves to believe that lie, our own anxiety will stir the storm up several more degrees in severity.

But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

It is ludicrous to us that the disciples actually thought that they could sink while in the presence of Jesus, right? Well since Jesus told us in Matthew 28:20 that He is always with us... since Jesus told us in John 14:17 that the Holy Spirit will be with us and in us, it would be ridiculous for us to think that we could possibly sink.

Eyes on God is faith. We look past the mess, through the chaos, to our Light and Guide and source of strength. We place our attention on His direction, rather than on the boisterous wind. We are not subject to the dangers of the sea when we are walking on it toward Jesus. In part 2 of this 2-part sermon, we will explore what "Eyes on You" means from the battlefield. 

NOT SO FAST

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?'

Isaiah 58:3

Fasting is a fairly popular practice among Christians. It is a religious observance during which one abstains from food or drink, and more recently, things or habits. While fasting can be a helpful or even restorative practice for oneself, the practice of a fast is done quite differently when it is for God.

When a person fasts, the removal of a certain thing allows a space in which a person can focus on God or an aspect of personal character that requires improvement. The meaningfulness of the fast is dependent on fulfillment of the vow made to God; but still, this type of fast is not for God. God described the type of fast that is acceptable to Him in Isaiah 58.

When a personal fast is undertaken with wholehearted and genuine intention, it does not displease God. Character growth is important and somethings things need to be resisted in order to re-align ourselves with the word of God. However, God does not appreciate public, superficial fasting. It was such a fast that caused Him to speak out and describe to us exactly what He expects from a fast we expect to receive His attention from.

• THE CONDITION OF FASTING

It must be understood that God requires any fast to be a private practice of which only oneself and God is aware. If it is done for attention or any other selfish motivation, it will not be acknowledged by God. Jesus explained in Matthew 7:21-23 that there are many people who think they are known by God, because they go through the motions of religious practices, but actually are not:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

This is because some people turn religion into a business or a series of superficial rituals. What they do they do to gain money, followers, attention or power. Even if they truly believe in God, their selfish motivation negates the purpose of their plan. How then do we fast with unselfish motivation? Jesus explained in Matthew 6:16-18:

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Do not be a hypocrite. A person who begins a fast meant to be acceptable to God, they cannot be a hypocrite. That means that if they identify themselves as children of God, they must observe and follow the commandments of Him. A hypocrite announces their fast and informs everyone of their progress throughout it. They seek attention and sympathy; they want people to know that they are resisting something so that they will receive praise from their peers. Unfortunately for them, God has decided that those who seek and receive the praise of men will not receive the praise of God. In their heart, they wanted the attention of humans not God and so they received their reward.

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: ...

Instead, Jesus taught us to fast privately. He instructed children of God to fast so privately that they even put effort into keeping it private. By keeping a fast private, one announces to God that their fast is for Him exclusively. They do not want or need or value the attention of people, their striving is done because they want, need and value the attention of God. They have chosen to resist something in order to prove their strength of faith, their dependence on God, and their willingness to remove anything from their lives but God.

... and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Ironically, a private fast results in a public reward. Much better than the attention or praise of people, divine rewards from God are permanent, extraordinary, meaningful, purposeful, heartfelt.

• "IS IT A FAST THAT I HAVE CHOSEN?"

The truth is that God does not chose for His children to deprive themselves of food or water. If such a fast helps a person with their faith or mindset, well and good, Jesus explained how to undertake such a fast in a godly manner. But God always teaches His children to look outward, beyond ourselves. If one is going to fast something, God prefers that it be their personal pursuits. 

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness,

To undo the heavy burdens,

To let the oppressed go free,

And that you break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;

When you see the naked, that you cover him,

And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

Isaiah 58:6-7

As it turns out... God requires quite a bit of effort from His children in the process of their fast.  He requires vigilant observation, active compassion, and unselfish dedication. God wants His children to be trained in the art of recognizing injustice and dismantling its grip on His children. He wants His children to assist people who are overburdened in life, pushed beyond their limits, inadequately equipped to handle their situation. He wants His children to confront oppressors and subsequently free their captives. God wants His children to break the bond between not just a person and their oppressor but a person and their addiction or depression. 

God wants His children to feed the people who are hungry. There are many hungers: hunger for food, hunger for the word of God, hunger for friendship, hunger for compassion, hunger for opportunity, knowledge, peace, hunger for a reason to have hope. As a child of God, equipped with the Word of God, one is prepared to fill each of these types of hunger. 

God wants His children to befriend the lonely, the ostracized, the meek. Like Jesus did, He wants His children to seek out not the people they can benefit from, but the people they can be a benefit to. Not as martyrs or angels or saints but as servants of the Lord, sharing the blessings they have that came from Him. God wants His children to bring their house to the uncovered. Include people, invite people, host people in your heart in your prayers, plans and intentions.

If one notices someone who is naked, bared to vulnerability and loneliness and the cruelty of the world, cover them. Arm them with the strength and love of God, first through acknowledgement, then through assistance, friendship and finally faith. God instructs humanity not to hide themselves from their own flesh, to be present and involved in lives and well-being of the people around.

“If you take away the yoke from your midst,

The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

If you extend your soul to the hungry

And satisfy the afflicted soul,

Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,

And your darkness shall be as the noonday.

Isaiah 58:9b;10

At the very least, do not contribute to the problem. Do not observe but neglect. Fast the habit of mocking, gossip and slander and cruelty. Do not extend a finger to laugh at someone, extend the soul to satisfy an afflicted one. When one does so, their fast is then appreciated by God.

• A WATERED GARDEN

Quite the opposite of "I never knew you" (Matthew 7:23), when God dismissed the culprit of the false fast, God warmly acknowledges the participant of the true fast.

Then your light shall break forth like the morning,

Your healing shall spring forth speedily,

And your righteousness shall go before you;

The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

Isaiah 58:8;9a

God makes Himself present and available to His children who call on Him from a place of righteousness. When they call on Him, He will answer. God is receptive to the prayers of the righteous and He is diligent to fulfill them: His divine response is an open reward. Access to the storehouses of God's blessings is the open reward of the private, philanthropic fast. The fast, undertaken in privacy, yields blessings so enormous and great that they're visible to everyone around. 

God's attention and compassion and presence and assistance and comfort and guidance and friendship and love and strength in every moment and detail of life is the reward of the righteous. The implementation of God's will, which always works all things together for the good, is the reward of the life of the righteous. 

The Lord will guide you continually,

And satisfy your soul in drought,

And strengthen your bones;

You shall be like a watered garden,

And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

Those from among you

Shall build the old waste places;

You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,

The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In."

Isaiah 58:11-12

God never forgets that while His child is out there helping others, they are in need of help themselves. Therefore He becomes their help. When conditions and situations cause them to become as weary and desolate as a desert, He waters them. He tends to them so comprehensively that they are liked a watered garden: blooming, thriving, producing. He is the reinforcement of strength on their bones; the motivation to rise and seek and assist. He restores His child, pours a firm foundation, and builds a safe and strong place for them to dwell.

• SUPERFICIAL FAITH

 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,

From doing your pleasure on My holy day,

And call the Sabbath a delight,

The holy day of the Lord honorable,

And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,

Nor finding your own pleasure,

Nor speaking your own words,

Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;

And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,

And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.

The mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah 58:13-14 

God wants His children to discard that superficial faith. He does not want them to go through the motions of traditions men have established. Public fasting and abstinence of foods do not make the impact the world desperately needs. Selfish motivations and practices are not acknowledged as evidence of faith. 

It is not one's own way, own pleasure, or own words which capture the attention and appreciation of God. God is honored when behavior is consistent and aligned with His will. And when one's behavior is consistently aligned with God's word and will, one is acknowledged and blessed extraordinarily by Him.

HERE AM I

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me

To preach good tidings to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 

To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

Isaiah 61:2;3

The kingdom of Judah was failing; it was weak and its people were corrupt. It had once been a strong and righteous place, established, reinforced and blessed by God Himself. It had been a kingdom build by divine intervention for the children of God; that is: the twelve tribes which had committed themselves to Him. They followed God and He led them directly into blessing.

Then they began to falter in their commitment to God. They began to neglect their relationship with Him and consequently reject His commandments, choosing instead the lifestyle of the corrupt nations around them. They were immoral and cruel, stubborn and arrogant. Steadily their values changed and descended until they were unrecognizable to the people they once were. 

But God still recognized them; He still claimed them as His own. He still accepted responsibility of them. Knowing that the people had blocked out His voice, God decided to try to reach them through another's: Isaiah. 

• CALLED

God assists us and teaches because He loves us, but His love for us extends beyond self-improvement and well-being. He has also assigned purpose and influence to us and our lives, respectively. In order to receive that purpose, we have to approach God... and the presence of God is a wonderful but peculiar place to be.

For to be in the presence of God is to be juxtaposed perfection. Before God we are completely bared and prevented from being anything but utterly honest. In the presence of perfection, our imperfections are excruciatingly apparent. Such was the case for Isaiah, who when called to stand before God, cried out in a blaze of humility his own unworthiness:

“Woe is me, for I am undone!

Because I am a man of unclean lips,

And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;

For my eyes have seen the King,

The Lord of hosts.”

Isaiah 6:5 

The experience is excruciatingly humbling to us, but we are not called to stand before God in shame. We are called to stand before God to have that shame removed. And that is exactly what God did for Isaiah. The grace of God permeated through Isaiah's humility and qualified him to be a prophet, an agent and messenger of God.

We stand before God somewhat less visually fantastically than Isaiah did, (I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”) but the experience is the same. 

Just as God restored Isaiah, so is His grace willing to restore us. Daily (and ultimately lifetime) commitment to God qualifies us for the purpose He has called us to. Every day God provides lessons that strengthen us and equip us with the implements we need to be righteously proactive and patiently compassionate. We must be receptive to the voice of God because He will call to purpose, and then He will ask: "whom shall I send?"

• WHOM SHALL I SEND?

... Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'

Matthew 9:35-36

Think of that moment in a dramatic, action-packed war movie when the protagonist is elbow-deep in chaos. Suddenly everything is in slow motion and soundless as the protagonist surveys their surroundings and realizes precisely how inadequate their forces compared to what needs to be done. Jesus experienced that moment. He was tirelessly teaching, preaching and healing day after day after day, an agent of God working without any fellow-workers. He looked up and saw multitudes of people who needed and there were simply not enough people working to fill their needs. 

Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'

Matthew 9:37-38

We naturally wonder ourselves "whom will God send?" We wonder when we read that scripture and we wonder in our own lives today. We witness injustice and disparity and we want to know who God will send to combat it? Well, returning to the book of Isaiah, God asked the same question: "Whom shall I send?" And the answer is: the person who elects to go. 

Isaiah did: "Here am I! Send me." Elect to be the person sent forth by God. God will reveal His purpose to each individual who asks and their potential portion within it. Once received, one must then accept it. When one experiences what Jesus experienced, that there is need in the world that needs to be, but is not, filled, once must elect to be sent into the field.

• WALK WORTHY OF THE CALLING 

Isaiah elected to go forth into Judah with a bold and ominous warning from God for them. But Isaiah was not sent to judge them or punish them. It was not even God's intention that Isaiah should threaten or frighten them. Isaiah was sent to inform them. Isaiah's job was the re-introduce principles of righteousness and to remind of the subsequent consequences of unrighteousness.

They had neglected and then forgotten the laws and commandments of God. "Laws and commandments" seem heavy and fearsome but ultimately it means that they forgot the importance of living righteously. The forgot how to be kind and wise and fair. They forgot the value of honesty and patience and mercy and loyalty.

So much of our purpose here is to embody the Word of God, to emulate Jesus as best as we can. After all, the influence of what one does contributes more to the fulfillment of their purpose than much of what one could say. Words of the apostle Paul reiterate this point: 

I, therefore,...beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:1-3 

Isaiah was equipped with the word of God, and so must any sent one be. Because of his knowledge and familiarity with God's principles, he was readily able to discern between righteous and unrighteous behavior. He was able to speak truth and therefore contend with injustice, properly forewarn iniquitous behavior, and separate his own behavior from from it. We cannot be effective or anointed agents of God without those skills (but if we are with Him, we have them). 

But in order for Isaiah's words to have any traction or impact or credibility at all he needed to walk worthy of the calling to which he was called. In other words, he needed to practice what he preached. He needed to live and thus exemplify the lifestyle and doctrine he brought to the people of Judah. To be a leader or speaker within or for the Kingdom of God is foremost to serve as a participant of it. 

In order to walk worthy, one must learn to think worthy:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Philippians 4:8 

The efficacy and fulfillment of our purpose is wholly dependent on our self-disciplined ability to remain steadfastly committed to the alignment of our body, mind, and soul with God's word and will. Our relationship with God and every lesson from Him retrains our brain (and subsequently our behavior) to produce righteousness from precisely before even the inception of any thought, word or action. 

Paul continued the above verse with this:  

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:9 

 Whom will God send? The one who elects to go. To do what? To put into practice the Word of God.

God did not call Isaiah or even Jesus to speak caustically or judgmentally. The basis of everything God does is not to frighten but to soothe, not to punish but to correct, not to harm but to heal. Caustic, hateful, judgmental speech is frightening and serves only as a barrier between a person and their potential relationship with God (or restoration to him). Hypocritical speech does even worse damage, even if it is not outwardly caustic or judgmental in nature.

God sent them to be informed examples of the Word of God. The intention is not to lambaste (though in cases of extreme evil and injustice it cannot all times be avoided) but to teach. God did not send Isaiah to doom them but to rescue them. God did not send Isaiah to shame them but to re-introduce to them to opportunity of redemption. God did not send Isaiah to vex or scare or flaunt or condemn... He sent Isaiah to re-gather His children. He sent Isaiah to remind them of the lifestyle that would heal and bless them. He sent Isaiah to, essentially, put up road signs so that the people would stop getting lost or harmed on meandering, unsafe, paths.

When God asks whom? Answer: Here Am I. When God calls, answer: Send Me. Once sent forth, endeavor to embody the word of God and surely, nearly inadvertently, your purpose will be fulfilled. 

WILDFLOWER

The book of Song of Solomon is a love story; and it is scripture told differently than any other book of the Bible. It consists of several conversations, declarations, and contemplation. It is a story about a young woman who meets a young shepherd while tending sheep and falls in love with him... but king Solomon falls in love with her.

Though this tale involves three people, it is actually scripture about your relationship with God.

• WILDFLOWER 

She's a wildflower, a lily of the valley. She has grown up the younger sister of brothers and has been allowed to roam the fields. She is beautiful and tanned from the sun. She's completely separate from the royal court and city life; born in the country to a modest family of herders. She spends her days tending to her family's sheep, roaming the fields and vineyards, eating apples and raisin cakes and falling in love. 

Her life and love is beautiful, innocent and completely natural... but her brothers, misunderstanding that, remove her from the fields and away from the shepherd boy. They place her in a vineyard instead, but then she captures the attention of the wealthy, powerful, prominent king Solomon. King Solomon removes her from her home and brings her into his royal chambers. 

This could have been a great honor and privilege; to many others, it would have been. After all, it is a rare opportunity to capture the attention of the wealthiest and most powerful man in the world. To the young woman, it is simply an unwanted obstruction. She has already fallen in love; and though perhaps it seems more modest a love at first glance, it is deeper than any relationship she could have with the king.

In this story, the young woman is a symbol for you and the shepherd she falls in love with is God. King Solomon serves as a symbol for anything, person or idea which obstructs your relationship with God or exists as a temptation within it.

• CATCH US THE FOXES 

King Solomon offers the young woman everything the world has to offer. Because of his fascination with her, he gives her his attention, his silver and gold, the protection of his guards. A prominent place in his house, his affection and compliments. But the young woman remembers, from her time in the fields with the sheep, how important it is to catch the foxes. Sly little things creep into good relationships and ruin them. Just as the foxes sought and destroyed the young grapes on her family's land, so too could the materialistic lifestyle of the king ruin her sweet relationship with the shepherd.

You also have to catch the foxes; they must not be permitted to enter your life for then they will enter your relationship with God. If God is the shepherd, literal in life and figurative in this story, you are His lamb, His sheep. Foxes are a threat to you; once they get their grip on you, they prevent you from returning to your shepherd. The foxes in your life and like the foxes in this young woman's life. They are those voices of doubt and temptation. They are the whispers in new places that tempt you from returning home, to God.

Your steadfast relationship with God is strong enough to withstand any fox, as long as you are aware of them and their tactics. You catch them preemptively. It was on the young woman's mind to consider the threat and damage of foxes because she, like you may one day, found herself surrounded by them.

• I SLEEP, BUT MY HEART IS AWAKE

The young woman starts to feel a little lost. She has been taken away to the king's court, away from the simple and sweet life she grew accustomed to. King Solomon has laid everything at her feet but none of it satisfies her soul as the shepherd does. She searches for him in her heart and in her dreams, but is is a task because of the many distractions that are now part of her life. 

Her struggle aptly describes the struggle you might have in your own life. Though you may want to remain focused on your relationship with God, there are many distractions which work tirelessly to prevent you from doing so. For our own emotions and desires cause us to doubt and neglect our trust in God. Our faith falters as events transpire in our lives seemingly out of time or place and we begin to wrestle for control rather than continue to submit to trust. 

The opposite is true as well. Sometimes the world offers up, seemingly on a platter, a lifestyle that is too tempting to refuse. We choose a relationship, a job, a position, a retort or opportunity that God would recommend we deny, simply because it looks good, sounds good, seems good, or superficially feels good. God is the one who nudges us to hike the higher mountain, even though it is more work. God is the one who coaxes us through the river, even though everyone else is taking the bridge.

We sleep, in that we become like the people of secular mindset: because we cannot always figure out His reasoning behind such seemingly outrageous choices, we take the bridge like everyone else... (and then it collapses). My our heart, our soul is awake and constantly seeking God. 

Like the young woman, we wander... literally, figuratively, spiritually. We try different mindsets and philosophies, different jobs and hobbies and friends. Meanwhile, our faith sleeps while our hearts are wide awake in search and discontentment. 

• WHAT IS YOUR BELOVED? 

However, also like the young woman, our focus on our shepherd and loyalty to Him can lead us through that night search. Solomon had many, many wives and mistresses who were enthralled by him. None of them understand why or how the young woman could prefer a shepherd over Solomon. 

The world will probably not understand your relationship with God, for they have not experienced it for themselves. They certainly will have trouble understanding the appeal of a humble life of servitude. The world has taught a much different message: pride and power are valued by societies in the world. On large and small scales, world and media teach us to control and impress and acquire. God teaches us to submit, serve and give. Do not be surprised when people wonder what the appeal of that lifestyle is compared to their own.

It is important to have a strong relationship with God in moments like that. We need to be familiar with God, to know who He is and what He is like in order to ever answer that question (for ourselves or others). In order to be familiar with God and to know who He is, we need to spend time with Him. We need to commit to Him and scripture. 

The young woman is able to explain her love for the shepherd (for God). She describes him, symbolically, as we would describe God and subsequently explain our love for Him: He is pure and unique; He is strong, beautiful and precious; He exudes health and gentleness; He is provision and order; He is the spice of life; His words are lovely; He is healing and cleansing. 

• I HAVE LAID UP FOR YOU 

Be a fortress of faith, a garden enclosed. The young women reserves herself for her true love. She sees herself in her shepherd's eyes and she finds peace. Look at yourself in God's eyes, for He is looking at you and He does love what He sees. Peace is in His eyes. He has written of His complete love for you throughout scripture. He is devoted.

 The young woman explains that she has laid up for her shepherd. She has waited patiently and faithfully. Every good thing her life has produced she has dedicated to him. The spiritual implication is that we should remain loyal to God; every good thing you have produced was gotten through Him. It would be adulterous (and foolish) to trade Him in for other desires. 

Your relationship with God is a love story. It is a true and everlasting love. It is the most unselfish and generous love you will ever have. God will understand you and believe in you and love you more than anyone else ever could. You are a wildflower when you live in faith; you're off the world's grid when you commit to a spiritual life. Your love and laughter and produce of your life is natural and born free in God. God puts the greatest emphasis on love. Not on desire or power or fame. On love. And it is through loving Him and being loved by Him that we discover and keep all manner of love throughout our lives.

NEVERTHELESS

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. 

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing;

Luke 5:1-5

Jesus had been travelling Galilee preaching (teaching) and healing. The Spirit of God was in Him; He spoke with such wisdom and authority that crowds began to amass around Him as He traveled. The word of God nourished their souls like nothing had before and so they were hungry for everything He had to say. Though wholehearted in everything He did, Jesus' task on earth was multifaceted. Not only did He need to nourish the crowds, He also needed to gather disciples to perpetuate the word in His (physical) absence. In order to gather and qualify disciples, Jesus need to reach individuals. 

Simon, a commercial fisherman, had given up. He brought his boat to shore. He washed his net. He declared the situation hopeless. And then Jesus directed him to launch out once again. Verses 1-11 in the Book of Luke are an illustration of the bountiful nature of faith. So often we give up, forgetting that God has more to give.

• BUT THE FISHERMEN HAD GONE

The boat was anchored by the shore; the fisherman was done, but then Jesus climbed onto that boat. He had an idea, a greater purpose for it. He asked the boat's owner, Simon, to move the boat out a little further from the shore; and from the boat, Jesus sat and taught the mass of gathered people on the land.

And here our great multitask-er did two things: He fed the crowd (the figurative bread that is the word of God), and He called Simon back out into purpose. In asking Simon to return his boat to the lake, Jesus asked Simon to step back into the waters, just a little bit from the shore. A small step, but a return to hope and purpose. 

Our steadfast relationship with God enables Him to re-position us. We throw in the towel but faith throws the towel back at us. God calls us back out onto the field: the game has yet to be played, the score on the board is not final. He beckons us back into the water, the lake has not yet been swam. When we are on the shore and walking home, head low, He draws us toward Him until we are ankle-deep in the waters head up, and staring straight ahead. 

Gently, God garners our attention and sparks new hope. When Jesus finished speaking to the crowd, He turned to Simon and directed him to launch out into the deep. Although Simon had been on the shore and finished, Jesus had gently, subtlety re-positioned Simon to go back out. Jesus instructed Simon to put His fishing net into the water.

• NEVERTHELESS, AT YOUR WORD I WILL

Dejected, Simon responded to Jesus that he had already tried, tirelessly, all night and was wearied by the failure of his efforts. This is a familiar position to us: weariness, dejection, capitulation. We surrender to defeat when our effort proves unfruitful. We become tired of trying, and too weary to hope.

But Jesus had just finished speaking the word of God to the crowd, the healing words full of wisdom and love and hope; the word of God had endeared Jesus to the people, to Simon, so Simon was more inclined to listen. He agreed: “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”

That is what scripture, what our relationship with God, does within us. It relights the fire within us, it opens the door of hope so that even just a sliver of light can enter. Jesus' words brought Simon back into the water after he had given up. It is so important that we keep God's word close because His words are the only thing capable of inspiring us to say 'nevertheless, despite this seemingly hopeless situation, I will try again'.

God's word is full of promises of achievement, of victory, of provision. Nothing else in life gives us that reassurance. In fact, experience and circumstance in life often tells us the opposite: that we will fail, will lose, will lack. It drains our spirit and causes us to bring our boat to shore, our efforts to completion. But faith, faith reveals those things for the lies that they are. Faith reveals and reminds us of the truth and encourages us to let our nets down once again.

• OVERFLOW FROM NOW ON

We aren't catching fish, and neither was Simon, not really. To "let down our net" is to open ourselves up to God's will, to be receptive to His instruction and to willingly follow along His path. To "let down our net" is to live as a inquisitive, vibrant, hopeful, active, alert students and children of God. Finally, to "let down our net" is to have the faith to believe that every day is worth new effort because every day holds new fulfillment of promise from God. Every day is packed with new abundance from God, ready to be gathered by the faithful.

Simon listened to Jesus and let down his net. Simon caught more fish than his net could contain. It was full and bursting. There were so many finished that Simon's crew called to the other boat to come and help and gather. Both boats were filled. There were more fish than either boat could contain. Simon's immediate impulse was to bow. And that is the love of God. It is overwhelming, humbling. Simon bowed down before Jesus' knees; he felt unworthy of such abundance. He was astonished that he could be loved and helped so much, so amply.

God's presence in our lives will cause the same astonished reaction in us. He transforms our circumstances: empty to full; dark to light; end to beginning; impossible to possible; death to life. When God tells us to recast our net, and we listen, we discover with wonderment that our net caught more than we ever thought it would. We must not allow our sometimes dejected spirit to block out the voice of God commanding us to keep going. Because it does it does not matter what a circumstance looks like; the outcome of a situation is dependent solely and entirely upon the will of God. If He says that you should keep fishing, and every day that you wake up is His voice saying that you should, keep fishing. Keep casting the net, because God is never going to instruct you to do something unfruitful. He will never instruct you to waste your time.

Listen to God. Simon's story began with a lesson from Jesus, with the word of God. He listened, and it inspired new hope, new energy in his wearied, hopeless bones. God is able to speak specifically to individuals; within everything He says is answer and explanation, counsel and guidance for the specific situation you are in.

The added bonus is that when we do listen to God, cast our net and catch our fish, He has further purpose for what we have caught.  God perpetuates the abundance He garners for us. Jesus told Simon not to be afraid; He tells us the same. Do not be afraid, God has even more planned for you. Simon, a fisherman, was made into a disciple; he was trained to become a preacher, one of the persons responsible for the establishment of Christianity. 

Simon forsook all and followed Jesus. Forgot your plans, the old plans, and take up God's plan. Follow the path of purpose, productivity and provision. Launch out into the deep, into the depths of faith.