Pastor Bill's Blog

King Ahaz(began reigning in 735BC – for 20 years) – king of the Southern kingdom of Judah – conjured up the idea of hiring the Assyrian army to attack the confederation of the Northern kingdom of Israel – did not bargain for them defeating the Northern kingdom and coming after Judah itself – this is the setting for Isaiah 9 – the indication that in the face of the Assyrian crisis there is hope – ANTICIPATION – the hope would be realized in Hezekiah the son of Ahaz – bigger picture – ANTICIPATION – Messiah

Isaiah 9:2-7(NLT)  ² The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.  For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.  ³ You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice.  They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder.  ⁴ For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.  You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.  ⁵ The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned.  They will be fuel for the fire.  ⁶ For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.  The government will rest on his shoulders.  And he will be called:  Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  ⁷ His government and its peace will never end.  He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.  The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

Anticipation – the intrigue of insight

Isaiah 9:2-3(NLT)  ² The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.  For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.  ³ You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice.  They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder.

How far can you see?

How big can you see?

Anticipation – the assurance of triumph

Isaiah 9:4-5(NLT)  ⁴ For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.  You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.  ⁵ The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned.  They will be fuel for the fire.

Break the yoke

Lift the heavy burden

Anticipation – the authority of identity

Isaiah 9:6(NLT)  ⁶ For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.  The government will rest on his shoulders.  And he will be called:  Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Wonderful Counselor – knowledge and wisdom – understanding and insight

Mighty God – superior to opposition – empowered to stand against opposition

Everlasting Father – Jesus bringing eternal life – living to release eternal life

Prince of Peace – the ultimate desire for the world – the greatest is inner peace

Anticipation – the certainty of promise

Isaiah 9:7(NLT)  ⁷ His government and its peace will never end.  He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.  The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

Take it to the bank

What is happening now – what will still happen – the big picture

Anticipation – the intrigue of our insight

Anticipation – the assurance of our triumph

Anticipation – the authority of our identity

Anticipation – the certainty of our promise

Acts 4:33(NIV)  With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.

The apostles lived under the umbrella of grace and they became living testimonials of the resurrection power of the Lord Jesus – attributes of that resurrection life – also available for us today

1.                Gratitude

Thankful for the life you’ve been given by Christ

Thankful for the flow of blessings in your life you can see

Thankful for protection from the things unseen

Thankful for the blessings of living today

Thankful for the hope for tomorrow

2.                Humility

Look for ways to advance others

Learn to admit you could be wrong

Willing to yield even when you think you are right

Understand the value of interdependence in relationship

Realize that the ultimate source of individual success is Christ in us

3.                Compassion

Luke 10 – story of good Samaritan – picture of compassion:

1. The dangerous road
2. Interrupting schedule
3. Willing to touch the beaten man
4. Poured in oil and wine
5. Made provision for care
6. Paid the bill

4.                Intentionality

Living with values – what’s important

Living with purpose – sense of mission

Living with direction – where you are going

Living with determination – a clear focus

5.                Resilience

Colts last Sunday – 4:12 left in the game – New England kicks a field goal to go ahead 34-21 – with 2:23 left – Joseph Addai makes a 4 yd run to bring the score to 34-28 – 2:08 left – New England on their own 28 yd line go for it and don’t make it – Colts get the ball back – :13 left – Peyton Manning connect with Reggie Wayne on 1 yd line for 35-34 victory

Zephaniah 3:17(NIV)  The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

INTRODUCTION – Just for fun – Ten bits of wisdom:

1. Always remember that you’re unique. Just like everyone else.
2. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
3. If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of house payments.
4. If at first you don’t succeed……  skydiving is not for you.
5. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
6. Some days you’re the bug, some days you’re the windshield.
7. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.
8. Duct tape is like ‘The Force’.  It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.
9. Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.
10. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative!

Wisdom for fluid transformation – achieving The Norm in Christian living

2 Corinthians 3:12-18(NLT)  ¹² Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. ¹³ We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. ¹⁴ But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. ¹⁵ Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.  ¹⁶ But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷ For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

Markers in fluid transformation

1. Fringe
2. Middle Ground
3. Passionate

Fluid because we can go both ways – can go from fringe to passionate and from passionate to fringe – long term middle ground will tend to slip to fringe

Obstacles on the path – keep us from passionate transformation

1. Unstable foundation – sower – the path – rocky ground – thorns – good
2. Untapped inspiration – dreams and visions from God
3. Unrealistic expectations – on God – others – self
4. Unchecked impulses – spirit – soul – body
5. Unbalanced faith – presumption – doubt
6. Uncompensated exhaustion – living in balance

When the “magic” of the supernatural is the norm

My friend Mike Spath’s recent trip to the city of Salzburg, Austria – home of Mozart – highlighted in the Sound of Music –features baroque architecture of the 17^th century – postcard type town – he commented about the people who live there have the “magic” of the city as normal life – we have the “magic of the supernatural” as our norm

Matthew 13:44-46(NLT)   ⁴⁴ “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.  ⁴⁵ “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. ⁴⁶ When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!