Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas Morning: Just what I always wanted クリスマスの朝:いつもわたしが願うこと



Luke 2:1-20  ルカ21-20
    When you woke up this AM, what did you feel? Tired, even after a good night of sleep?  Maybe, you did not sleep so very well and you haven’t been sleeping that well for a few months now.  Maybe you did not sleep at all and you are here ready to fall asleep any minute now. Don’t be afraid恐れるな。。。  Good newsよきお告げ。。。  Great joy 大いなる喜び。。。
  
    Could it be that Christmas has become just one of those times you just try and get through?  It is hard to get into the Spirit of Christmas this year.  There are less and less Christmas lights in the shopping areas.  Almost no Christmas music—as in the past. There had been WONDERFUL Carols and even Worship Song being played over the sounds systems.  Handle’s Messiah, Glory to God, in the Highest!  Not your Bing Crosby type of dribble but real worship songs.  All that has not been in place this time…maybe because of the March 11th event… Maybe because people are just not interested.
    Are you interested? Somewhat, or you would not be here this morning.  Unless you don’t have other things to do or places to go, you made a good choice.  Thank you for being here.
     One reason some are not interested in Christmas very much is because they don’t really understand what this all means.  There might be a dark cloud around the holiday because there is a misunderstanding of God’s willingness to forgive. 
    In fact, that is JUST what I want to talk to you about this morning: forgiveness.  And I want to speak about Truths and Myths.  And Christmas is full of them both.  Some are there because of error and others are there because of truth.
    I have heard from more than one person that forgiveness is not only hard to give, it is not natural. Impossible with man but POSSIBLE with God  人には不可能だが神には可能。
     A young lady tells that her own father abused her when she was a child.  How could a father do that?  How could God allow that to happen?  When the subject of forgiveness comes up, she says that that sort of a person does not deserve forgiveness.  On one hand, she is right.  He doesn’t deserve it but it is offered. Forgiveness for that lady, as well as so many others, is a real struggle.  It is not only just difficult to forgive—it is impossible. In Luke 6:37, Jesus teaches, “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”  He adds to that teaching in Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will to forgive you sins.”  Paul adds to the fire with Colossians 3:13 “Forgive as the Lord forgave you”.  
     There needs to be a better way to understand forgiveness and for us to receive true healing from wrongs done to us and to our families.  It is a healing and freedom God desires for you and for me, and especially during this Christmas Season.  Why? Because He forgave us.  He was born to do that very thing.

     Today, we will quickly look at a few Myths of Forgiveness 赦しの6つの神話。 And then, How That Fits With Christmas.  Let’s get started.

     MYTH #1 about forgiveness is:Forgiving means the offender didn’t really hurt you. 赦しは攻撃するものがあなたを傷つけないということを意味する。
      The young lady felt that if she forgave her father, it would lessen the severity of the parental abuse. The forgiveness does not deny the hurt; does not deny the wrong.  What he did was evil.  He did the abuse and he wronged her. The offense was not to be belittled at all.  Forgiveness would only end the fear.
     It has been said, “Forgiveness is a redemptive response to having been wronged and wounded.  Only those who have wronged and wounded us are candidates for forgiveness.”  ~ Lewis B. Smedes.  If she CHOSE to forgive her father, that would begin her healing of the deep pain she may still experience.

Forgiveness was seen at Christmas! 赦しはクリスマスに表れる!

Myth #2: Forgiveness means that you excuse the offender’s cruel act. 赦しは冷酷な行いに言い訳を与えることを意味するWhen I chose to forgive the one who wronged me, I do not condone the behavior, it is a response that seeks to redeem the pain—not cover it up.  Betrayal by a friend needs forgiveness.  It would unlock my prison of bitterness.  Bitterness really ends up hurting us more than the issue at hand.

Forgiveness was seen at Christmas! 赦しはクリスマスに表れる!

Myth #3: Before you can forgive the offended person, you must feel forgiven. 赦すことができる前に、赦されたことを感じ取らねばならない。 In truth, forgiveness has nothing what so ever to do with feelings.  You may still feel hurt, angry and betrayed and still completely forgive the one who hurt you. When we look at forgiveness, it must be with the eyesight of Biblical forgiveness.  It is an act of the will.  You make the choice to forgive.  I want to forgive that person.  I want to end the cycle of hurt.
     Remember that God’s love has shown us that kind of love.  We were enemies of God, not wanting to allow Him to control our lives.  We also chose to  NOT worship Him.  Not to love Him. Not to follow His teachings.  We made the choice to bend the rules. We allowed our life to move off center—even a little—from what He wanted for us.  He wants to forgive us. He offers that forgiveness in our accepting His Free gift of eternal life in His Only Son, Jesus, the Christ. 

Forgiveness was seen at Christmas! 赦しはクリスマスに表れる!

Myth #4: It is important to understand why the person hurt you before you can forgive them. 赦される前に人はあなたをなぜ傷つけるのか理解することが重要である。 Not true.  In fact, back in 1997, a second year student in Kentucky demonstrates just the opposite.  She was leading a prayer meeting before school started when an other students burst into the meeting and started shooting 11 shots into the praying group. One of the bullets severely damaged the spinal cord of a girl named Missy.  She became paralyzed from the waist down.  She will be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
     Missy still does not know why the shooter did that but that did not stop this young crippled girl from making the choice to forgive him.  She was reported to say: “It won’t make me walk again. Besides, I know it isn’t what Jesus would do.”
     Philip Yancey wrote in his book What’s So Amazing About Grace, “Not to forgive imprisons me in the past and locks out all potential for change. I thus yield control to another, my enemy, and doom myself to suffer the consequences of the wrong.”

Forgiveness was seen at Christmas! 赦しはクリスマスに表れる!

Myth #5: Some would say—forgiving means the offended will face no consequences, no penalty. 赦しは攻撃したものが何の罰に直面しないことを意味する。 When you make the choice to forgive someone of their wronging you, your forgiveness does not ‘make it all better.’ It does not let them off the hook. Forgiving someone does not mean justice shouldn’t be served. 
     Remember when Pope John Paul II was shot in 1981? A few years later, when John Paul had recovered from the gunshot to the chest, he visited the prison where his would-be assassin was imprisoned.  Looking him in the eye, John Paul said to Aqca while offering him his hand, “I forgive you.”  Even after that, Aqca continued serving his sentence and was released in 2006.

Back where I come from, we have a saying: You do the crime, you spend the time. 犯罪を犯し、時間を浪費する。

Forgiveness was seen at Christmas! 赦しはクリスマスに表れる!

Lastly, Myth #6: When your offender is finally punished, you will find sweet closure. あなたの攻撃者が最終的に罰せられるとき、すばらしい終わりを見るであろう。Not even close. You are still hurt.  You still have the memory of the event.
     In 1990, two daughters of a woman named Linda were killed by a very evil man.  Ten years later, as the man was being strapped to his death gurney, the murder apologized for the savage killings.  All that did not bring closer for Linda.  She was disappointed after the execution, not comforted. 
     We would think that punishment for the crime or offence would bring healing.  One would think that a deep apology or justice or imprisonment or even an execution would produce the much expected closure, but it would not.  Only forgiveness would do that. ただ赦しのみがそれを為す。

Forgiveness is a process.  It does not come all at once.  It is a journey—and sometimes a very long one.

After the War in the Pacific, a former member of the bombing squad over Japan, the Doolittle Raiders, was handing out tracts at the Shibuya station. His name was Jacob DeShazer.  In his book, Forgive Your Enemies, DeShazer, who had spent almost the entire war as a POW and suffered terrible torture (including water-boarding) found the only way he could survive was to open his heart to God.  Becoming a born-again Christian, he found his life's purpose in missionary work.  He eventually returned to Japan where he began a mission and converted one of the guards who had routinely beat him during his activity.
     DeShazer, part of the Doolittle Raiders who bombed Nagoya, met Captain Mitsuo Fuchida, 淵田美津雄隊長 who led the attack on Pearl Harbor. They becoming close friends. Fuchida became a Christian in 1950 after reading a tract written about DeShazer titled, I Was a Prisoner of Japan, and spent the rest of his life as a missionary in Asia and the United States. On occasion, DeShazer and Fuchida preached together as Christian missionaries in Japan.
     In the US, Fuchida sought reconciliation and began a career of preaching to the Japanese American community.  In one of those historical ironies, a quarter century after he led the first attack, he was naturalized as an American citizen. His story can be found in the book, God’s Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor by Dillion, Godlstein and Prange.
     After the war, Jacob DeShazer returned to Japan and served his former enemy for thirty years as a missionary. His testimony of forgiveness and reconciliation - of love over hate - inspires a powerful Gospel message for our lives today. As for Fuchida-he wrote, "That morning [December 7] … I lifted the curtain of warfare by dispatching that cursed order, and I put my whole effort into the war that followed. … [But] after buying and reading the Bible, my mind was strongly impressed and captivated. I think I can say today without hesitation that God's grace has been set upon me."

Forgiveness was seen at Christmas! 赦しはクリスマスに表れる!

Forgiveness ABC’s 赦しのABC
Acknowledge the hurt: Speak it out to the Lord. See Ps 34:18 and Ps 147:3 打ち砕かれた者を知る。 詩編34181473
Blame the offender: Correctly placing the blame prepares you to begin the forgiveness process. 攻撃者を叱咤する 癒しの道のり You are on the road to healing.
Cancel the debt: 借りを帳消しにする。 マタイ69-13 You now need the Lord’s help even more.  Matt 6:9-13 (esp verse 12)  “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Speak it aloud and say: “__NAME__, I have chosen to forgive you for hurting me. I have decided to cancel the debt you owe me.”  On the road in the process of forgiving the person who hurt you. God has a plan that really works! 神は本当に有効な計画を持っていた

     Now, how does this fit in at Christmas time? Forgiveness was really seen at Christmas! God made man. He is the creator of all life. Man HAD a growing, personal relationship with Him in the Garden. Man made a very stupid mistake. He did not correct his wife and let them both be tempted to go against God’s Word. They took something that He told them not to take. This disobedience was a break in that relationship. Man broke God’s heart. He separated himself from his Creator.  In his broken condition, he kept making the wrong choice…yet the Creator made a way for His creation to be brought back to His Love.  Man broke it and God was going to make it right.  Forgiveness needed to be expressed. Man could not provide such an expression as the penalty was so huge. God alone could. He sent His Only Son. That was the WHY of the Baby in Bethlehem.  That is the WHY of Christmas.  

John 3:16. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.ヨハネ316   神は、実に、そのひとり子をお与えになったほど、世を愛された。それは御子を信じる者が、ひとりとして滅びることがなく、永遠のいのちを持つためである。

Isn't forgiveness something you always wanted?  It is yours in Christ Jesus!
Forgiveness was seen at Christmas!


Myths taken from an article, What Forgiveness Isn’t by Denise George.  6 myths that may be keeping you from letting go.  July/August 200 issue of Today’s Christian Woman.

Faith, the kids and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and to have a Christmas that will express His dear love to you and to your loved ones around the world.

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rest,"

わが家族より皆様へメリークリスマスFaithと子供たちそして私からクリスマスのよき訪れ、世界中の主の愛があなたとあなたの愛する者たちの上に示されますようにと願います。来年2012年に会いましょう。

「いと高き所に、栄光が、神にあるように。地の上に、平和が、御心にかなう人々にあるように。」



Sunday, December 18, 2011

Do you bow at all? あなたはかしづきますか。

Matt 2:1-12   マタイ21-12
 Believers, what do you believe??
     The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary:
Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: 
The third day He rose again from the dead:                           
He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
From there He shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy universal church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen.
   It is the time of year for singing some pretty interesting songs. Some of the songs that are sung are really off base.  It is not my intention this morning to make fun of some of the holiday songs but one of them just has it wrong.  

 “Have yourself a merry little Christmas, it may be your last,
Next year we may all be living in the past
/OR (Let your heart be light / Next year all our troubles will be out of sight".)
Have yourself a merry little Christmas, pop that champagne cork, Next year we will all be living in New York.
No good times like the olden days, happy golden days of yore,
Faithful friends who were dear to us, will be near to us no more.
But at least we all will be together, if the Fates allow, (if the Lord allows) From now on we'll have to muddle through somehow. So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.”

   Introduced by Judy Garland in 1944, and even she criticized the song as depressing. In the 1980’s Mr. Hugh Martin, the writer of the song, was playing his piano at a local church in the Western US when he told that the words were originally written differently. Hugh Martin-a believer who wanted the song to reflect his faith… BUT THE INDUSTRY DID NOT WANT THE “GOD THING’ IN THERE.  
   In just a few years, the whole meaning of the song was changed.  For better or for worst, it was changed.  Not so with our passage today. The words of Matthew ring true; the whole of the passage. And it was to BRING us the Good News and for us to KNOW Salvation.
In this passage, we also have the response of three very different people to the news of the birth of this “shepherd of My people.”
1. The chief rulers of “the Faith” 「信仰」の第一人者
   These men of faith knew in their heard all about the Promised One. They knew where to look for the answer—The Prophet Micah. And they know what he had said about where—in Bethlehem.
They told King Herod BUT THEY REMAINED in Jerusalem! Would that have been your response? They only reported the information and remained in the city and in effect, let foreigners go find Him.  Seemingly uninterested.  Are you to find out?
   They are so very like many of the religious leaders today—for the most part, they have head knowledge only of the Divine.  No heart at all.  I found this true in my own church I grew up in…more interested in trees, handshakes and beer than Christ.
These, so called leaders of the Faith were as blind then as they were about 30 years later when Jesus called them blind…
   Now as for 2. The official ruler of Israel, イスラエルの公的支配者,Herod. ヘロデ The Romans put this man up as ruler in the Palestine region as King of Judea in 37BC. He was ethnically Arab but a somewhat practicing Jew.  He was given the title of Herodes Magnus or Herod the Great.  He really liked that title!
   He was also given the title of ‘King of the Jews’ by Rome.  From what I read about this man, he really did not like being where he was and wanted Rome to do better things for him.  They did not so he seemed to take it out on the Jews.  He also had some interpersonal problems with family members.  Once when he visited Rome, he feared for his life—so, he ordered the death of his dear wife should he not return, as he could not bear the thought of another man with her.  Later, he had his wife put on trial and executed for scheming against him. There was no evidence of such a claim. He later executed three of his own sons in fear of being overtaken. He gave the order of all the high officials in Jerusalem to be arrested when he neared death, and killed on his own death so that the city would cry. He was also credited for the massacre of infants “from two years old and under, according to the time which he diligently inquired of the wise men.”  (Matt 2:16)
   He was upset in our passage because of the title the wise men used… verse 2 “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
   When they used THAT line, he was once again threatened.  That is why the whole city was disturbed with him.  The old line, “If the king isn’t happy, NOBODY is happy” comes to mind here.
   He, of course, did not wish to worship the New King of the Jews.  He lied to the wise men and hid from them his evil intent.  Not hidden, however from the Lord. The Lord showed the Wise men in a dream that they should leave by another route.  Could have cost them their lives but they were well gone from the power of Herod by that time.
   Which then leaves us with the third group: 3. The wise men from the east. 東からの賢者
   Even with our Christmas Carol “We, Three Kings…” we really don’t know 1. If there were three. 2. That they were kings but we do know they came from the east to see this Child King.  They came after the birth of Christ and not on the evening of the birth as with the shepherds.  Because they gave three kinds of gifts, it doesn’t mean there were three of them.  Does not really mater.  What matters is what they brought with them, why they came and what they did when they saw Him.
   a.What they brought with them: 彼らは何を持参したのでしょうかthe gifts they brought: Gold was a standard of trade more reliable than any country's money in those days. Frankincense and myrrh were sacred spices burned before the altar of the Lord. Myrrh was also associated with marriages and burials. These would come in handy in the weeks ahead as the family left for Egypt soon there after.  It also was a foreshadowing of what Jesus would need during His Ministry.  Needs that would cover His life, His work and His death.
   b. why they came. 彼らはなぜ来たのでしょうか  They might not have known it, but their coming was a fulfillment of Old Testament Messianic prophecies found in Ps 72:10, 11, 詩編7210-11; Isa 49:7, 23 , イザヤ497,23; Isa 60:6 イザヤ606. They learned of this birth by looking to the skies.  I don’t understand the whole of this but the fact that the Lord shows His handiwork in nature is commonly seen.  He showed these men that something GREAT and totally unusual was going to take place and off they went to see and meat this Child.
   They came to see the Great Light.  The first Gentiles to see Him.  They came to worship Him—as foreigners.  Given this special task along with poor and ignorant local shepherds.  Again, a foreshadow of the call of God to the WORLD of His universal call of the Church.  All men are called to Him to worship the Incarnate God, showing that salvation was offered to all men, every tribe and nation.
   Let’s not miss this! c. what they did when they saw Him 彼らが主を見たとき何をしたのでしょうか。is the key to our message today.  They did something that we should also do.  They worshiped Him.  How? Verse 11  On coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
   Are you willing to bow down to Him? Think about what else we bow down to. The call to being honest. The call to being a good husband.  The call to be the best you can be. The call of manhood.  The call of womanhood. The call of being a good citizen. Of being well off.  Of being intelligent.  Most of these callings, many would feel, are our rights.  We are destined to be these things. It is our right.
   So the question I have to answer and I am asking you to answer is this: Am I living my life for these things? IS being good my drive? IS being honest my center? IS being the best I can be the force that drives my life?
   Even before they saw Him, as they were coming closer, there was joy!  9 After they had heard the king, …10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
   When the wise men bowed down to the Christ Child, think of what they saw.  A baby. In a house…not a stable, this happened later, remember? They saw a child.  A small child at that!  There were no angles flying around Him.  No Handel’s Messiah being played. No special glow around His little head.  He was just a BABY. But they caught the real meaning that has been lost so many times as we come to this season.  “Oh, little Christ Child…”  “No crying He made…” THAT KIND OF JESUS is fluff.  He was really God!
   And they worshiped Him!  For who He is! They knew that He was the Promised One from Old.  They knew He was the Son of God and they bowed down and worshiped Him.
   When you came here this morning, what did you expect to see?  What did you expect to hear? Soft music that charmed our ears? A ‘nice’ service?  Or did you expect to come into the very presence of the Living God of Creation?
   These men were called ‘wise men’ and for sure they were! They were wise because they were not tricked by the world. They were ready to see what they had been searching for.  They even brought things to give to Him. To present to Him.  Not a few extra pieces of change, but Gifts of Gold!  Gifts of incense and gifts of myrrh.  What do you have to give Him? He wants just you.  Your attention, your passion. All of you. What a joy to His Heart to get that from you today!  Because He first loved us… in fact…
   John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
ヨハネ316神は、実に、そのひとり子をお与えになったほど、世を愛された。それは御子を信じる者が、ほとりとして滅びることがなく、永遠のいのちを持つためである。

For God                The Greatest All:
So loved               The Greatest emotion: Motivates His actions
The world             The greatest community
That He gave        The greatest sacrifice: He gave His ALL
His only Son         The greatest relationship: the Savior
That whoever       The greatest number: Open to all who believe.
Believes               The greatest adventure: based on Faith
In Him                 The greatest Person
Shall not perish    The greatest separation
But have              The greatest opportunity
Eternal life            The greatest gift: the reward is Great!
   One of the greatest gifts you can give to God is your attention. When was the last time you were passionate with God?  When did you cry out to Him with your open hurt and express to Him your need for Him to know your heart? The time for this is NOW!

   Merry Christmas!  Come to the Candle Light Service on Dec 24 at 6:30 PM.  4:30 for the Community Walking Caroling.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

“The Joy: 喜び; The World Is Crowded With Gethsemanes"
 世界はゲッセマネ(・・・の象徴)で満ちている


3rd week of Advent
   I DISCOVERED this past week that the Garden of Gethsemane was not really a garden at all but an orchard. Olive trees still grow there today, but during Jesus’ day it was a place of business, an olive press producing the local areas supply of oil. This is where the word Gethsemane comes in. A gat (Hebrew) is a press, a large five-foot high square stone pillar, and a semane, is oil. So on the evening before His crucifixion Jesus went to the orchard of the Olive Press with Peter, James, and John, to pray and to be pressed.
   If you lived in the first century and worked with an olive press (gethsemane), your day would be spent gathering olives, placing them in a woven fishnet like bag, and putting them on top of a stone table. This specially designed table is round with beveled edges that curve down to a trough. The trough is angled and funnels into a bucket which holds the oil. The top is designed to receive the pressed oil. The tall square stone is lifted up and set on top of the basket and for several hours its tremendous weight is left there to crush the liquid from the little olive.
   It is no accident that Jesus spent His last evening in the Garden of Gethsemane. From there He would leave to go to the Cross and receive the weight of the world, the gethsemane of our sins, blood crushed from His body running down the Cross to the world below. Dr. Luke describes the pressure Jesus suffered that evening: And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. 医者のルカは、「苦しみもだえて、いよいよ切に祈られた。汗が血のしずくのように地に落ちた。」と書いています。 Luke 22:44  It is an image of the gathsemane crushing the oil from the olive fruit.
   Gethsemane ever since has come to symbolize suffering. And you already know that the world is crowded with gethsemanes 世界各地のゲッセマネfrom Bible times; Herod’s slaughtering the innocent. Today: Saran Gas attacks in Tokyo; Oklahoma City bombing; Columbine High School. And around the world: in Dec 21, 1988, over the skies of Dunblane in Scotland, a Pan Am jumbo jet 103 blew up-killing 259 people in the air and another 11 more on the ground, On March 16, 1988, in Halabja, Iraq the gassing of the Kurds that killed 5,000; Bosnia, the scenes of ethnic cleansing where over 100,000 died; and the town of Beslan, Russia where over 300 children were killed by terrorist. Rwanda, in 2004, over 800,000 Hutus and Tutsi were killed in less than 100 days. The world is full of gethsemanes. There are times and towns where the innocent have suffered. In the face of such unspeakable horror we need to ask ourselves some questions:
   First: whom do we turn to? だれに対するのでしょうか?
   50 years from now, people will say, Ishnomaki was the place so many school children died. So many innocent were lost. In times like that, whom do we turn to?  King David had some idea… See Ps 77:1-19 詩篇77:1-19

1 I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. 2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted. 3 I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint. 4 You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak. 5 I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; 6 I remembered my songs in the night. My heart mused and my spirit inquired:7 “Will the Lord reject forever? Will He never show His favor again? 8 Has His unfailing love vanished forever? Has His promise failed for all time? 9 Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has He in anger withheld His compassion?”10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High.” 11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago. 12 I will meditate on all Your works and consider all Your mighty deeds.13 Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? 14 You are the God who performs miracles; You display Your power among the peoples. 15 With Your mighty arm You redeemed Your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.16 The waters saw You, O God, the waters saw You and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. 17 The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; Your arrows flashed back and forth. 18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, Your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. 19 Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, though Your footprints were not seen.

   Who do we turn to when things are unexplainable painful?  God?
   The Bible asks us this question. And the Psalmist in essence is saying that there is no consolation, not even in God, when your soul has been torn from you. But even in great despair something faithful is happening. Even when we cry out “God is not there” we reveal our deep desire for God.
   There are many who have had it really tough in our world. Some of you have experienced great pain during your life-time. The illness or hard times sapped their strength almost to the point of death. In the midst of this illness, some wrote on suffering. Some would later come to realize: The sickness, which kept them in bed, which held them back, forced them to think about their spiritual condition. Suffering gets our attention; it forces us to look to God, when otherwise we would just as well ignore Him. 
   One who wrote a great deal about suffering and loss is Philip Yancey, who wrote: “Any discussion of how pain and suffering fit into God's scheme ultimately leads back to the Cross. ”  He later wrote: “God loves people because of who God is, not because of who we are.” What’s So Amazing About Grace? And in that pain of life, we see His Love.
   That’s it. Suffering gets our attention. 苦難は私たちの緊張感を高めます Suffering forces us to look toward another; forces us to ask the deeper questions about life; forces us to turn toward God. Even if it is to express our displeasure and despair, we turn to Him and in those pleas we display our faith in Him.
   The first question is: Who do we turn to? The second is: What are we to do? 私たちは何をすべきか? The answer here could be obvious: we are to pray. When Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane, He went there for one reason, to pray.
   Not the time for sleeping, but to pray. 祈り  Get up and pray! During Advent, it is not a time of leisure and pleasure. Prayer gets us ready for suffering.  Our soul needs prayer to really live.  Jesus told His followers to pray because He knew what was to happen shortly after.
   Prayer does two things. It helps us cope with the hardships that come our way—and they will come our way.

  私たちの道のりにある苦難に耐えられるように助けてください   John 16:3 “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” けてください。ヨハネ163     

   It prepares us for what lies ahead.
   The hard times we go through is like being boiled in water. “If you are an egg, your affliction will make you hard-boiled and unresponsive. If you are a potato, you will emerge soft and pliable, resilient and adaptable." It may sound funny to some, but there have been times when we should pray, "O Lord, let me be a potato."
   #1-helps us cope with what is ahead and #2, It guides away from temptation. 誘惑から逃れられるように導いてもらう祈り マルコ14:38

  Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Mark 14:38.   

   This was said in the Olive Garden.  In Luke, Jesus said this twice!
   Hardship many times brings temptation: Temptation to compromise our principles, temptation to pursue pleasure over adversity, temptation to renounce our faith in God. (Peter later quickly learned this lesson as he denied that he even knew Jesus.)  All 11 of His Disciples left the scene of His betrayal afraid for their own lives. They did not pray so they did not stay.  They did not stay so they gave into temptation because they did not pray.
   First question: Who do we turn to? Answer: God, even in our despair. Second question: What do we do? Answer: Pray to cope. Pray against temptation. Pray for one another. And pray for the Kingdom to come. Third question: Where do we go from here? 私たちはここからどこへ向かう? Answer? Well this one is a little more complicated. The answer isn’t easy because life isn’t easy. When Jesus left Gethsemane, where did He go?  He went to Golgotha. He went to the Cross. イエスは十字架へ向かった At times we all seem to be running from the garden of despair to the hill of suffering. You will be in good company!
   We have seen so far in our Walk Thru the Bible that people have had their Gethsemane: their place of pressure.  Abraham-when he was asked to sacrifice his only son.  For Joseph, when he was put into jail for something he did not do.  Paul had his gethsemanes in his life. He listed them…stoned, whipped, robbed and shipwrecked.  

  2 Cor 11:24-26 24 第2コリント11:24-26 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.(195X) 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.” 

   One major truth is found in these: When we are going through them, many times DO NOT SEE the purpose of the Gethsemanes we face.
   We cannot deny the picture painted by the Psalmist when he asks, 7 “Will the Lord reject forever? Will He never show His favor again? 8 Has His unfailing love vanished forever? Has His promise failed for all time? 9 Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has He in anger withheld His compassion?” Does His promises fail? Has God forgotten to be gracious? And David said this in his infirmity (condition)." 

   How does this fit during this, the third week of Advent when the key word is JOY. 
James 1:2-3 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
ヤコブの手紙 / 1 2-3 わたしの兄弟たち、いろいろな試練に出会うときは、この上ない喜びと思いなさい。信仰が試されることで忍耐が生じると、あなたがたは知っています。

   I believe those three members of the new family did not really know what was going on nor what to do next.  It took a dream given to Joseph to get them going to Egypt as Herod’s killers were on their way to do murder. God was giving them JUST what they needed to take them to the next step. One step at a time-in the Father’s Will—produces JOY 喜び as they learned to TRUST.  Same for us. Look to Him, Pray to Him. Be lead by His Spirit and find the JOY of Christmas. 

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Prepare the Way/道を整えよ Advent #2/降臨節第2週


Mark 1:1-8      マルコ11-8 
     His name was John. People knew him locally as ‘the Baptist.’ Some would say of him that he was a religious oddity: a strange man. Others less kind would dismiss him as being simply a flake, a weirdo. He definitely did not seem to be the kind of  "How to win friends and influence people" type of personality to usher in the news of the Messiah's coming. He just somehow doesn't seem to fit in with shepherds and wise men and the other characters that we traditionally associate with the Christmas story. Yet, this was God's unlikely servant chosen to herald the spectacular events that would soon follow. A most unlikely front man to be sure, but God's man nevertheless.
     From the very beginning everything about John was unique. His mother Elizabeth was related to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Elizabeth conceived six months before Mary. But Mary happened to be a very young girl, indeed almost a child. Her probable age might have been thirteen. It was not unusual for a girl in that day and time to be of childbearing age at such a tender age. Indeed, it is not unheard of even in some parts of the world today.
     Elizabeth, on the other hand, was a woman who was in the golden years of her life and not happy about that. She had never given birth to a child. You would think of her more in the category of great grandmother than a mother. Yet, she and her aging priest of a husband were the unlikely candidates for something very special.
     And then there was John himself. Being the same age as Jesus they grow up together and probably played together. Yet as they reached adulthood they were different in so many ways. When John began his ministry he lived in a rugged desert wilderness of Judea. He fed on honey and wild locust and dressed in garments of camel hair. He constantly brooded over the scriptures, especially the prophetic ministry of Elijah, after whom he modeled his own ministry.
     Nor was John a respecter of persons or rank. He had an intimidating personality. For that reason the upper class folk rejected both he and his message. You can read about that in Luke 7:29.
     Yet, John gathered a respectable following. He attracted many hearers among the lower class, many of whom received baptism by his hands. John even drew a group of disciples around him, which is significant for two reasons. First, some of these disciples later became disciples of our Lord, Jesus. Secondly, a number of people began to think of John himself as being the long expected Messiah. For that reason John's gospel felt obliged or forced to specifically point out “There was a man sent from God whose name was John, He came for testimony to bear witness to the light that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to bear witness to the Light.”

What drew people to John and his message? 何が人々をヨハネと彼のメッセージに引き寄せたのか。 
     Well, John was incredible. His austere or stern life style was a compelling reason to listen to him.  Perhaps his strange ways convinced some people to follow him. Some thought he was Elijah the prophet who returned from the dead. But there was more to John than simply a bizarre strange life. John understood that God was about to do something that would shake the foundations of the earth and he needed to prepare the way for that event. 
He did this in basically three ways... ヨハネは3つの方法によった。
1. By living a godly life. 敬虔な生き様によって。
     A changed life is hard to deny. 変えられた生き方を否定しがたい。 We might have heard of the testimony of a man who used to be a member of the underworld…now converted. He has an all-new way of living. I went to school with a man who used to ride with the Hell’s Angels.  A real bad guy, but, once he was coming off of a heroin high, his ‘friends’ put him in a dumpster and the dumpster was just in ear shot of a Billy Graham Crusade.  (Note: Please be praying for Dr. Graham (93) as he is in a hospital.  He is getting better.) For three days, Rick heard the Gospel. Even in his weak and sickly condition, Rick knew he needed the forgiveness Dr. Graham was speaking about.  It took all the power he could muster, but he walked to the front of the auditorium and asked for counsel.  He looked like death warmed over. The councilor showed him the way to God. Rick became a follower of Jesus and shared his faith all over the US. I often wonder what ever happened to him.
     Other’s lives were very different.  They were good people. Never hurt anyone, never did anyone any harm. Nice person. A friend to all sorts of people.  Yet there was something missing in their life.  They knew they were bent in some way. There was a non-good thing inside their heart. Could not touch it, nor could they speak of it. It was there and once they heard the Gospel, they realized they were missing a relationship with the Creator God. Their life was centered on what they could do.  They did it all with such goodness and selfishness.  Yet they were lost. They were looking to their own actions to get them into Heaven. They would say: “I’ll find a way to get in on my own!”
     Problem is; there is only one way to God and John the Baptist knew that way and He was telling everyone who’d listen about how to get right with God, their maker. 

John 1:29 "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

     But we are moving away from the first point; his way of life was a life that was Godly. He was honest.  You might be honest.  He was just. You might be just. He spoke of the only way to God as being THIS Lamb of God. That might be the place we stop being like John. John was a good man who followed his God and lived a Godly life.

2. By challenging the people's sins. 人々の罪を諭すことによって。 
John challenged the people’s world-view.


Mark 1:4~8 マルコ14-8  And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River   And this was his message: “After me will come One more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”


     He told people the Good News. The Good News is that God provides for His creation the only way to find His Grace and Mercy—thru His only Son, Jesus. If there were another ways, why did the Father send His son to die? If mankind could make it on their own, why did Jesus die for Man’s bent condition? The answer is, there is no other way to God. John challenged the rich to be honest, the soldiers not to steal, the religious leaders to wake up and see their need.  This message got his head cut off as he spoke directly to Herod of his short comings.  See Matthew 14.

3. John pointed the way to Christ. キリストへの道を指し示すことによって。 
Many are lost and not even know it!

     We all need directions from time to time. Some say that men don’t like to ask for directions. I’m not like that. If I even THINK I am lost, I will seek out a person to show me the right way.  Going the wrong way is time and I want to be where I am going on time and not be late…so I ask for direction.
     Sometimes the directions are confusing.  JAF was once found to be in a jam. Some of their crew used a JAF map, I am told, and got really lost! The maps and reality did not correspond!  GPS helps but you need to know how to read a map. Can you read a map?  Question is: can you refold the map?
     Signs on roads, buildings, directions on a paper all help us get someplace.  We all need, from time to time, someone to point us in the right direction.  ‘Where is the bathroom?’ is one of the first things I learned when I started a new language. Problem is, the answer!  “Blaldaha onsizhfnja mskfing desu!”  I’d better ask another person!
     John pointed the way to Christ. ヨハネは道しるべなのです。  He even told his own followers--- There He is!  Go follow Him. He is the One we have been waiting for.
John himself was a sign post. God sent him to be the one to point to the Messiah. 

Mark 1: 2 It is written in Isaiah the prophet:   “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” 3 “a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

     His role was to tell others and then to sit back and let Him take center stage. 

7 And this was his message: “After me will come One more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

     John was preparing the Way for the Messiah. 
     Can you make room in your heart for Him? 
     Are you prepared to be pointed to Jesus? あなたは準備が整っていますか。 
     And will you follow that direction? あなたは従っていきますか