Episode Transcript
[00:00:19] In the 1940s, a group of scientists led by a man named Albert Einstein and another man named Oppenheimer started a group that developed this thing called the Doomsday Clock. Anybody heard of the Doomsday Clock? If you've never heard of the Doomsday Clock, you should just disregard everything that I'm about to say and forget that I said it, okay? Because if you read about it, and they update this every year, by the way. If you read about it, it's like sitting next to a person who's been, like, all hyped up on caffeine all morning. You ever sat next to that person sitting on a pew and somebody's just tapping their leg frantically and you're like, dude, you should have laid off the caffeine this morning.
[00:00:58] It's like reading that, like, it feels just. It's just filled with anxiety and worry, and it makes sense, right? So if you're wandering through life and you believe that this life is all there is, that we're born, that we die, and that's it, like, if that's the worldview by which you're functioning from, there's a lot to be worried about, right?
[00:01:22] And so here's kind of the recent history of the doomsday clock. In 1992, the clock was moved to 110 seconds to midnight. Now, when the clock strikes midnight, according to these scientists, the world comes to an end.
[00:01:38] And they mark this on the basis of the development of nuclear weapons, on environmental issues, and on just the various things related to artificial intelligence that they believe are going to ultimately be our demise. Okay, so in 1992, it was 110 seconds to midnight. In 2020, that clock hand had moved the closest it had ever been to 100 seconds to midnight. And today. Anybody want to guess where it is today?
[00:02:06] Haddon, what did he say?
[00:02:11] It's not right on it. No, not yet.
[00:02:14] Not that close. 89 seconds to midnight. It's the closest it's ever been. So as you're reading this, it could be really tempting as it was for me to be like, oh, my gosh, we don't have much time, and we don't know how much time we have. But here's the reason I share that with you this morning.
[00:02:30] Christians, if you're a follower of Jesus, are called to be a people of hope. Can you say hope?
[00:02:36] Hope. All right, here's what hope is. I think it's my favorite definition of hope, and I've read a lot of them. Okay? Hope is believing that there's something good just around the corner.
[00:02:47] Okay? Hope is believing that there is something good just around the corner.
[00:02:52] And here's the difference between the gospel according to the Bible according to Jesus and the prosperity gospel. The prosperity gospel would say that, that something good around the corner is material wealth or physical health or a variety of other things that you and I desire to experience right now.
[00:03:12] But the true gospel says none of that stuff is promised. It's not a bad thing to desire, certainly not a bad thing to pray for. Physical health, material wealth, and all those kinds of things.
[00:03:21] But that the good news that is just around the corner that you and I anticipate is the coming of Jesus, by which he makes all things new.
[00:03:28] And we know that he's going to do that because he's already done it once. We know he's going to come again because he came over 2,000 years ago. And that's what Christmas is about. And so, despite all of the details of our lives and the stressors going on during the December month, we have the opportunity as Christians to be a people of hope.
[00:03:47] Okay? So Isaiah 9 is all about hope.
[00:03:54] You guys say hope.
[00:03:56] All right, Isaiah 9 is all about hope. And I think that there are three things.
[00:04:01] I think there are three. There are a handful of things that are necessary for us to cultivate hope, and they're found in the text. Number one is this. And I'm just going to read a few verses, okay? So if you're writing stuff down, number one is you and I have to remember our need.
[00:04:16] So if we're going to be a people of hope, we have to remember our need. So look at Isaiah, chapter nine.
[00:04:23] I'm going to start in verse, verse one.
[00:04:27] But there will be no gloom for her who is in anguish.
[00:04:33] In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun, in the land of Naphtali.
[00:04:39] In the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. This is the Gentiles, the non Jews. This is us.
[00:04:50] Verse 2, the people who walked in darkness. And we'll just stop there. So if you and I are going to cultivate hope by the grace of God this year, okay? And we all need hope, by the way, because here's the thing.
[00:05:04] All of us in the room in a variety of degrees tend to fall in one of two camps when it comes to hope. Really believing in our bones that there's something good around the corner, namely the return of Jesus, okay? And one end. If you think about it like A path. You got two ditches on each side. One ditch is the ditch of cynicism.
[00:05:26] Cynicism says, who cares?
[00:05:29] It's all bad.
[00:05:32] Who cares? Right? And so we stop praying, we stop reading, we stop believing that Jesus can do anything, that what is impossible with man is possible for God. We stop believing these things, and we fall into the ditch of cynicism. On the other end of the spectrum, or the other side of the ditch, is the ditch of despair.
[00:05:51] The ditch of despair might look at the Doomsday clock or look at various situations in your life, and you're not necessarily saying, who cares?
[00:06:01] But you're freaking out about it.
[00:06:03] Like it's all falling apart. Everything is falling apart. And when you feel like everything is falling apart, what do you typically do? You grasp for control in any way that you can. This is where many of us live. We're falling consistently on one end of the path or the other. Either the ditch of cynicism or the ditch of despair. And hope is that pathway by which you and I have been liberated by Jesus to walk by the power of the Holy Spirit on this path of hope believing. What's hope? Believing that there's something good around the corner. All right?
[00:06:40] But to get there, you and I have to remember our need. Verse 2 says, the people who walked in darkness, this was us who.
[00:06:50] Okay, The New Testament says it like this. In Romans, chapter three, it says, none are righteous. No, not one.
[00:06:57] No one understands.
[00:06:59] No one seeks for God. That means if you're here, friends, and you're not yet a Christian, you're here because God, the Holy Spirit is doing something in you.
[00:07:08] He's using people in your life to invite you to church or whatever other means he might providentially ordain. But he's doing something in your life. And it's because God is a God of love and he's wooing you to himself through faith in Jesus Christ.
[00:07:26] But the Bible says no one seeks for God.
[00:07:30] And it goes as far as to say, not just that none of us are righteous in and of ourselves, not just that none of us seek God on our own. But Ephesians 2 says that you and I were dead in our sins and transgressions.
[00:07:43] That means we were separated from God, cut off from the commonwealth of God. We were dead in our sins and transgressions. And you know as well as I do, when a person is dead, they can do nothing.
[00:07:57] And so the state by which you and I came from, if you're a follower of Jesus today, it's important for you to remember the depth of your neediness before God, that there was nothing you could do to make yourself right with God. There's still nothing you could do as a Christian to earn the love or favor or merit of God. It's all by grace. And so to cultivate hope, we have to remember our neediness.
[00:08:22] It says, the people who walked in darkness. This was us. We were a people who walked in darkness. And I would encourage you to do this if you have, like, a pen or pencil or something like that or a highlighter to just highlight or circle the word were, you were a person who walked in darkness. If you're a Christian today, meaning this, that's no longer who you are.
[00:08:47] You're no longer a person who walks in darkness.
[00:08:52] How do we know this? It's because of what the passage goes on to say. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
[00:09:00] Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them a light.
[00:09:08] So the book of Isaiah was written a long time. Kids, can you say a long time?
[00:09:14] All right. The book of Isaiah was written a long time before God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit. The book of Isaiah was written a long time before God the Father sent God the Son to earth to live in the muck and mire of our brokenness and to take on human flesh.
[00:09:35] And so Isaiah 9 is really all about telling us that many, many, many years from when this prophecy was given, the Son of God would take on human flesh as the person of Jesus and come to rescue us and make all things new.
[00:09:50] And so it says that the people who walked in darkness, or who were in darkness, have seen a great light.
[00:09:58] Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them a light has shone. Who is that light? Verse 3. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil for the yoke of his burden and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the trampling of the tramping warrior is in battle tumult. And every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. And here's our answer. So the people who walked in darkness, who was that? Who were the people who walked in darkness?
[00:10:32] That was us. We were the people who walked in darkness. And it was on the people who walked in darkness that God. God could have done a lot of things. He could have told the people who walked in darkness, I want you to get your life right.
[00:10:43] I want you to do better. I want you to try harder. I want you to be a better person. I want you to start doing these things. But God doesn't do that.
[00:10:50] Okay, kids, can you say grace?
[00:10:52] Grace. This is grace. And it's not just for the kids. It's for the adults in the room as well. If you can really tune into me for a second.
[00:10:59] It was on the people who walked in darkness, not the people who had it together, not the religious elite. It was on the people who walked in darkness that God did what? He shone a great light.
[00:11:11] You've seen a great light on them who dwelt in the land of darkness. And this is who that great light is. Look at verse six with me. And we're just going to break this down one by one in order that we might stop and behold this great light that God has shined upon the people who lived in deep darkness. Verse 6.
[00:11:30] For to us a child is born, for to us a son is given.
[00:11:37] And the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called. Wonderful Counselor. Can you say wonderful counselor?
[00:11:48] Wonderful Counselor. Okay, I want you to consider for just a moment. And this is gonna be more applicable to the grownups in the room, but even. Even for the kids. Kids, can you raise your hand real quick?
[00:11:58] All right, you guys are doing awesome. All right. For the kids in the room, there have been times that you've really wanted your mom and dad, right?
[00:12:06] Times that you felt afraid or times that you felt worried or you felt sad, or maybe you fell down and you got hurt and you run in and you want your mom and dad. And in those moments, your mom and dad serves as a counselor. Can you say counselor?
[00:12:21] Adults in the room. Many of you have been through counseling, and I want you to consider for just a moment some of the greatest counselors you've ever sat across the table from. What do they have?
[00:12:32] They listen.
[00:12:33] They seek to know, they care. They're not there out of obligation. They're not there because they're forced to be there.
[00:12:41] They're not constantly checking their watch to determine how much time you've spent with them in the room.
[00:12:47] They're there. You can see it in their eyes, right?
[00:12:50] When you have a good counselor who actually cares about your well being, who desires your flourishing, you can see it in their eyes.
[00:12:57] Okay? The scriptures say that Jesus is our wonderful counselor.
[00:13:03] All of the good that you've experienced. Receiving the counsel from another human is exemplified.
[00:13:10] Times, eternity in the person of Jesus.
[00:13:13] Those are all little shadows of the wonderful counselor himself.
[00:13:19] Jesus is our wonderful counselor. He is consistently and eternally interruptible.
[00:13:26] He never grows weary. He never gets tired of you coming to him with all of your problems. And we never come to him with all of our problems, do we?
[00:13:37] I'll just speak for myself like, we come to him very reserved.
[00:13:42] I had this conversation with a brother last week where he's. I love him and he's a seminary guy and he knows all the theological answers and he's going through a really hard time, and he's.
[00:13:51] I could just hear reservation in his voice as he's talking about his time with Jesus in regards to what he should be learning and what he should be feeling and all of these kinds of things. And I just wanted to encourage him, hey, man, you have an opportunity to come to the wonderful counselor with these things. You don't have to have it all together, as a matter of fact. And listen to this. Jesus prefers that.
[00:14:14] Jesus prefers you come to him not having it all together.
[00:14:18] He prefers you to come to him like a needy child.
[00:14:21] Because that's who we are.
[00:14:24] Jesus. This great light that's been shown upon the people who lived in darkness is our wonderful counselor. Can you say wonderful counselor?
[00:14:32] All right, adults, I don't ask you to repeat back to me in a normal sermon. So just. If this is your first Sunday, this is not common, but it helps the kids, okay? He's our wonderful counselor.
[00:14:43] Second, he's our mighty God.
[00:14:46] This great light that's been shown on a people who lived in darkness. He's wonderful Counselor. We can go to him with all of our needs. We can approach his throne boldly, not because we're great, but because we're covered in his righteousness. So we can come to the Father boldly as a son or as a daughter, because of Christ. Jesus is our wonderful counselor. And the second, he is our mighty God.
[00:15:09] Psalm 23 is an amazing passage. If you're unfamiliar with Psalm 23, I'd encourage you to read it today. It's an amazing passage for those who have faith in Jesus. And here's what it says. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his namesake. But here's a little nugget of Psalm 23 that I think is just awesome.
[00:15:34] It says that even. Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
[00:15:40] I will fear no evil. Why?
[00:15:43] Because you're with me and he is our mighty God.
[00:15:46] What does it mean when it says that his rod and staff will comfort me?
[00:15:52] Well, it means that that mighty. If that mighty God is on my side, I've got nothing to fear.
[00:15:58] Like if that mighty God who has a rod and a staff, what is a shepherd who holds a rod and a staff do for his sheep?
[00:16:06] Well, I've heard it preached like this. The shepherd walks around and he bashes the sheep.
[00:16:10] Okay, the sheep get out of line. He bashes the sheep. The sheep do something they're not supposed to do and he bashes them on the head and he gets them back. That's not what the shepherd does.
[00:16:18] I mean, occasionally he does that. The scriptures talk about God disciplines those he loves. Absolutely.
[00:16:23] But he protects with his rod and staff, he protects us from wolves.
[00:16:29] He protects us from enemies. He protects us from danger.
[00:16:33] And again, we say this all the time at Redemption Hill. The Christian life is not one that's danger free. God does not promise you and I that nothing bad will happen to our bodies, but he does promise us that nothing bad will ever happen to our souls.
[00:16:47] His rod and his staff, they comfort me. I'm comforted because the one who's on my side is the mighty God of the universe.
[00:16:57] He's wonderful, counselor.
[00:16:59] And he's mighty God. But the prophet goes on.
[00:17:05] Everlasting Father.
[00:17:08] This doesn't mean that Jesus is the Father or that the Father is the Son. God the Father, God, the Son, God, the Spirit are one God, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son and Spirit. But what it does mean is it testifies to the character of Jesus that Jesus is fatherly in his love for his people.
[00:17:27] Okay, we live in the midst of. Absolutely. And this is one of the things that makes me so proud to be at Redemption Hill is we've got some stellar dads at Redemption Hill, but we live in the midst of just an absolute fatherless epidemic.
[00:17:42] This is my theory, but I think if you look at what is one of the root causes of so much violence happening in our culture that's happening, by and large, disproportionately at the hands of young men.
[00:17:53] Fatherlessness.
[00:17:55] And not just fatherlessness in the sense of dad is gone like my dad was, but even fatherlessness in the home. Dads that just don't care, they're passive or they're abusive fathers not being fathers the way God called us to be fathers. God isn't like that.
[00:18:12] And so if you have father wounds, if you don't have a good relationship with your Father, if you don't know your Father, if you've been hurt by your Father, and you carry those things, Jesus in his character is everlasting. He's eternally Father. Like to his people, he is everlasting Father. This is who he's always been, and it's who he'll always be. God is Father.
[00:18:36] He's not just our judge, he's not just our ruler, he's not just our Lord. He is those things, but he is Father.
[00:18:45] He's everlasting.
[00:18:48] And then the last is.
[00:18:51] Jesus is the Prince of peace.
[00:18:55] Okay? He's the Prince of peace.
[00:18:57] Anybody desire peace, like internal peace?
[00:19:01] Just lift your hand.
[00:19:03] Come on. Everybody in the room wants peace. Like, all right. Like, we all desire inner peace.
[00:19:11] None of us want to be anxious.
[00:19:14] None of us want to be fearful.
[00:19:15] None of us want to feel sad.
[00:19:18] Okay? Though sadness is not bad. It's an emotion. But none of us want to feel anxious or worried.
[00:19:22] We desire peace. You know where peace comes from, or at least where it starts. It has to start here, knowing that you have peace with God if you know in your bones. And this is what Paul says in Ephesians 3, that he gets on his knees.
[00:19:39] This is part of the pastor's responsibility, by the way. But we should be doing this for one another and for ourselves. He gets on his knees and he prays that the Holy Spirit would open their hearts, that they might know the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of God for them. Because as Christians, we don't know it that well.
[00:19:56] And so we need the Holy Spirit of God to open our hearts more so that we would know more of the breadth of God's love for us. Because that's how we're changed.
[00:20:05] Okay? You're not changed by being told by somebody. You gotta get it together. You're being changed. When you become more aware of the depth of the love of God for you in Jesus, that's what changes you and I to become more like Jesus. And so Paul says, I get on my knees and I pray for the church that the Holy Spirit would do this. You and I cultivate peace internally when we know that we've been given peace externally with God.
[00:20:29] Jesus is the prince of peace. He. He didn't come so everybody would get along.
[00:20:35] As a matter of fact, Jesus said, I came to bring a sword.
[00:20:38] And that sword at times is going to divide families.
[00:20:43] Sometimes that sword is gonna divide Husband and wife. Sometimes that sword is gonna divide parents and kids and kids and parents. And that sword is this. What will you do with Jesus?
[00:20:53] Because you cannot make peace with yourself and God on the basis of what you do.
[00:20:58] You can't do it.
[00:21:01] And so you need to remember your need. You were or are, if you're not a Christian, a people living in darkness, and you need rescue.
[00:21:09] And the Prince of Peace himself, the one who came to not just bridge the gap, but the one who came to pull people who were living in darkness into relationship with the triune God through His perfect life and death on the cross and. And resurrection from the grave is our means of peace with God.
[00:21:29] So your assurance this morning can't come from looking at your life and saying, well, I'm a. You know, I'm pretty much a better Christian today than I was when I first became a Christian. That. That can't be your source of assurance. Your source of assurance has to come through the cross.
[00:21:44] That's where Jesus brought peace between you and I. And God was at the cross when he took our punishment upon Himself. When he took our place. He died the death that we deserve to die. Not just the first death, but the second death, the one that separated you and I from God, that made us enemies with God. Jesus took it upon himself on the cross, absorbed the wrath of God, was buried three days later, raised into newness of life so that all enemies of God through faith in him, could be reconciled to God and have peace with him forever.
[00:22:13] We have peace with God.
[00:22:16] Jesus is the Prince of peace.
[00:22:20] So do you need peace this morning? Of course you do, and so do I.
[00:22:25] Christmas can be stressful.
[00:22:28] So traveling and you're seeing family, and some of us have hard relationships with our family, and that's stressful. Some of us. You're the only Christian in your family, and that's hard.
[00:22:38] And so where do you find peace in the midst of all of this?
[00:22:44] You have to kind of take a step back and not miss the forest for the trees.
[00:22:50] And here's the forest.
[00:22:51] Through faith in Christ, you have peace with God.
[00:22:56] God's not angry with you.
[00:22:58] He's not upset with you. He's not disappointed in you. He's not looking down upon you with a frown on his face.
[00:23:05] He's your father. He is mighty God. He is on your side. He's guarding and protecting you with his rod and staff. He's your wonderful counselor who's always ready for you to come to him in the midst of your brokenness.
[00:23:18] He is Prince of Peace.
[00:23:21] And so we develop internal peace by remembering that because of Jesus and in Jesus we have forever peace with God.
[00:23:30] That's what Christmas is about. Christmas. Okay? This will be the last thing. All right, so he's the prince of peace. And then look at verse 7 of the increase of his government and of peace. There will be no end. Can you say no end?
[00:23:46] All right, I'm going to give you a second to pause and think about this for a second, all right?
[00:23:51] Of the increase of Jesus government this day that he returns.
[00:23:58] And all earthly governments, every single one, every single earthly ruler and authority bows the knee to his kingship in this government that's established by King Jesus. Christmas, by the way, is not just about a manger, it's about a throne.
[00:24:18] When Jesus laid in that manger as a baby, God was saying, satan, you're dethroned.
[00:24:26] This is Jesus throne. Now this is the fulfillment of Psalm 110.
[00:24:32] This is what would eventually become Matthew 28. When Jesus has risen from the grave and defeated our sin, put it behind the back of God, trampled on the head of Satan. When Jesus rose from the grave, Jesus said, hey, all authority has been given to me.
[00:24:48] And that's true today.
[00:24:50] And so when I read verse seven again to you, I want to encourage you to take a deep breath out and be reminded that whatever worry you have, if the governments of the world rest on the shoulders of Jesus and your problems are no big deal to him. When I say no big deal, I don't mean he doesn't care about them.
[00:25:07] He does care about them. I just mean they're not too heavy for him.
[00:25:11] Verse 7 of the increase, ever increasing government of Jesus that's being expanded and multiplied throughout the world right now through the advance of the church of Jesus.
[00:25:24] As more and more people get saved, as more people put their faith in Jesus, the kingdom of God is advancing. Jesus said, this is like a mustard seed.
[00:25:35] He inaugurates the kingdom of God at his birth. He lives, he dies, he rises, he ascends, he sends the Holy Spirit. And now, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, his church, his bride is growing. His kingdom is growing. This is an ever increasing kingdom that one day will be fully and completely finalized at his return.
[00:25:56] Of the increase of his government and of peace. There will be no end.
[00:26:02] There will be an end to the governments of our day.
[00:26:05] There will be an end to the nations of our day.
[00:26:08] But there will be no end to the rulership and kingship and government of King Jesus.
[00:26:14] There will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and. And with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. How do we know this is gonna happen? Because the zeal of the Lord will do this.
[00:26:32] You know what God is most for out of everything else in the world?
[00:26:38] I'm just gonna open it up to you. We're fine. We're at the end of the sermon. What is God most for in the whole world?
[00:26:45] The glory of his name.
[00:26:48] That's what he's zealous for. He wants your flourishing. He loves it. He loves your joy. But you and I will know fuller and truer joy when we remember that what God underneath all of that is about more than anything else. What the zeal of the Lord of hosts is doing in our day today and what he will do forevermore is the glory of his name. His name will be glorified.
[00:27:11] And it's the zeal of the Lord of hosts that sent Jesus. It's the zeal of the Lord of hosts that's growing his kingdom as we speak through his church. And. And it's the zeal of the Lord of hosts by which Christ will return and make all things new. Establishing his kingdom once and for all. That will have no end. His kingdom will have no end. So here's my final conclusion. Tell me what hope is again.
[00:27:36] Believing that there is something good just around the corner. We don't know when this thing will be. If you're not a Christian in the room. Here's the thing.
[00:27:43] And again. We say this all the time. If you're not a Christian in the room.
[00:27:50] You have to reckon with this reality. Okay? You are living and walking in darkness. And nothing you do will make you right with this God.
[00:27:59] Nothing you do, nothing you earn will earn your place into this kingdom that has no end. This kingdom is coming. And it's the zeal of the Lord that will do it. And it's relentless and it's not going to change. But here's the beautiful reality for you this morning is you're invited into this kingdom.
[00:28:15] You're invited into this kingdom not because of what you do. You're invited into this kingdom by turning from yourself and looking upon Jesus and believing.
[00:28:22] Jesus says that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son upon the people who walked in darkness. A great light has shone. He gave his only Son so that whoever believes upon him would not perish with the rest of the world but would have eternal life in this kingdom with him forever. That's available to you today if you're not a Christian. And for those of us who are Christians, my prayer, I thought about this yesterday, so I'm going to assume that this is the Holy Spirit that brought this to mind for us.
[00:28:51] My prayer for us is that our hope this Christmas would have practical implications.
[00:28:58] That your believing in your bones that there's something good just around the corner, namely the return of Jesus and restoration of all things because of what he's already done for you, would actually have practical implications. And that's going to start in your home.
[00:29:10] And I'm not just talking to married folks.
[00:29:12] It's going to start in your heart. Actually, let me take this. It's going to start in your heart that hope, this kind of grounded, raw, real hope that there is something actually going to happen around the corner that God's going to do. We're not just living our life waiting for heaven.
[00:29:31] That this hope would have practical implications on everything in your life, that it would impact your joy, that it would impact your peace, that it would impact your relationships with people in the church and with neighbors, that if you're married, that this grounded hope would impact your marriage, if you have kids, that this grounded hope would impact your marriage and your kids.
[00:29:48] That this grounded hope would lead you to walk across the street and engage with your neighbor, like Pastor Matt said, inviting them over and let them participate in Advent with you. Cindy and I have done this a handful of times and it's amazing.
[00:29:59] Like, non Christians are looking for this kind of thing now.
[00:30:03] Everybody wants hope. And Christmas time is a really easy segue into saying, hey, come over to our house and let's talk about where we find our hope.
[00:30:10] Doesn't have to be a weird thing, but let's pray together that our hope would have practical implications. C.S. lewis, when he wrote to an audience in the 1940s amidst the development of nuclear war.
[00:30:25] I'm sorry, yes, nuclear warheads.
[00:30:29] As he's writing to the church, he encourages them with this. He says, hey, hey, listen. What makes your time unique?
[00:30:37] As opposed to being a Scandinavian or being a Viking or being like somebody who.
[00:30:42] Their life was always on the line and they were just very aware of it during that time. He said, the thing that makes our time unique is anesthetics. We are obsessed with living as long as we can.
[00:30:52] That's what you and I want.
[00:30:54] But Lewis invitation for Christians is simply this, hey, instead of running around like chickens with our heads cut off, let's be a people of hope. And being a people of hope means every day by the grace of God and by the power of the Spirit. Living ordinary lives, pulling ourselves together, getting on the floor with our kids, inviting people to our house over a good meal, over a good drink, engaging with our neighbors, with joy in our hearts and hope in our minds. And it's living as ordinary people, choosing by the grace of God to love God more than we love life.
[00:31:25] That's freedom.
[00:31:27] Like, if we love God more than we love the idea of living as long as you possibly can, you're free.
[00:31:35] That's what Jesus delivered us from this life of self preservation into a life of self sacrifice and discipleship, knowing that the best days are yet to come, and they're just around the corner. Amen.
[00:31:48] Let's pray.
