White as Snow

Isaiah 6: 1-8

“In the year that King Uzziah died, 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!’  And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said:

“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.’

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said:

“Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.’ Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

“Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’”

White as Snow

Isaiah 1:18 promises us that we can be white as snow. As we near Christmas Day, the snow here in Southern Ontario is on the ground; it is cold and looks to stay that way right through Christmas Day. The snow can be dangerous of course for driving, but it is beautiful. It makes everything look white and clean. It lights up with the car lights and makes the fields almost glow.

I did not grow up with snow; in Barbados we had warm, green Christmases. We still sang “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas,” but we did not ever have one. The first time my brother and I experienced snow was in December 1977. We flew from bright and sunny Barbados to Montreal, Canada to spend Christmas with my aunt. My brother and I had an awesome time. We played and played until my parents had to literally drag us in. Snow makes everything look beautiful.

There is a lot of emotion around Christmas time, and there is such a focus on family and friends, gift giving and food that many often forget the real reason we celebrate the birth of Jesus our Saviour. Some 700+ years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah promised that a virgin would be with child. In Isaiah 7:14 we see this prophecy,

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

This was the promised sign to the nation of Israel; and thankfully to us Gentiles as well, a sign that God loved us and was going to redeem us. As we see in history, King Uzziah died about 740 BC, so this promise was made to us 740 years before Jesus was born. In chapter 6 that we are looking at today, Isaiah has an experience with the Lord that transforms him for life.

This is what the Christmas story is all about. God came to offer us the power and the opportunity to be transformed by Him. He could have left us in our state of sin and death, with no hope and no way out.

We will all die – getting older and seeing friends and family die, seeing celebrities die all frail and gaunt, seeing the Terminator begin to look old and the muscles don’t stick out like they used to. Death haunts us all, and the Lord could have simply walked away and left us to the obvious demise – death and hell. But He did not; He made a way. He offered an opportunity to get back to Him and have eternal life.

Please, it is important that we make this very clear: God does not need us; we need Him. God is self-sufficient. He needs no one and He needs nothing else to complete Him. There is a common thread running through the Christian world of a God who needs us. Nothing could be further from the truth. We make ourselves out to be more, way more than we really are.

While the account of the Prodigal Son is a stirring account from the mouth of Jesus, make an honest recollection of the story. The Father did not go looking for the son. He did not chase him down and He did not need him. The Father had all he needed at home. He did not go hungry; his son did. He did not end up serving a Gentile man; his son did. The Father was looking for the son, but it was the son who had to repent, turn back to his father, realize that he needed the Father, and then return home. The father ran to meet him when he saw him, but it was the son who needed the father’s food, home, safety and provision.

Let me share with you for a few moments about the awesome Christmas story. It never loses its wonder for me, and I am 51 years old. The more I study it, the more precious and real it is to me. The more I read the Bible, the more the power of it becomes apparent. I just want to share a few things as we enter the Christmas time:

Isaiah saw the Lord, verses 1-3

If we take the time to look at the world around us, we will see the Lord more than any people or generation before us. Science and archeology remind us of the wonders of the world; it reminds us that this world is carefully and deliberately made. Every part of it is knit together for our benefit. The more we explore the human body and the more we explore the creation around us, we see this amazing design, and of course, the Designer, the Lord God himself.

The heavens declare the glory of God, the Psalmist writes. The shepherds rejoiced when they saw Jesus and went to tell all who would listen about Him. For 2,000 years countless men, women and children have carried the name of Jesus all over the world, telling the story of when God came as a man to redeem us and live with us. His name is called Immanuel, meaning ‘God with us.’ If you see Jesus, you have seen God.

Isaiah was awed by the Lord, verses 4-5

Isaiah was terrified by his state. He saw himself, dirty and wretched before the Holy Living God, and he was terrified. He expected imminent death. The Old Testament prophets did not all understand the mercy of God, nor did they always understand His grace. But God made it clear that He wanted to have a relationship with us. From the days of the Garden of Eden, God walked with Adam and Eve. He came to them and fellowshipped with them. He came to Noah; He came to Abraham; He came to Moses; He came to Joshua, and on and on we can go. And yet it was hard for these persons to see His grace and mercy.

One night a long time ago, back in 1981 when I was 15 years old, I saw myself as dirty and sinful. I asked the Lord to forgive my sins and be my Saviour. Here is the irony of the relationship I have with Jesus: I see myself as dirtier now than I thought I was then. The more of the Bible I read, the more of the truths that I see, the more I read of the awesome loving, merciful and gracious character of our God, the more I see that I am ‘undone, a man of unclean lips.’

My thoughts are not holy; my teeth act more as a gate for my mind than ever before. I constantly have to shake my head to get out a bad idea or thought, and I constantly need to fall on God’s mercy for my sinfulness. I do not even think I knew what sinfulness was back then. Now it haunts me front and center every day in the mirror. I am the chief of sinners.

I am awed by the grace of God. The fact that the infinite and eternal God would make any time for me at all is awesome. The idea that the Holy Living God would make time for a sinner like me is awesome. The idea that the most powerful God would make time for a weak pile of dust like me is awesome. It is awe inspiring, and I wake in wonder every day that the Lord would continue to help me, supply for my family and me, use me to tell others about His Son, and ever be mindful of me.

If you have walked with Jesus for any length of time, and if you read and seek to have the Holy Spirit apply His word to your life, you will begin to see how sinful you are and how rebellious you are. I am. But the Lord should awe you; He should blow your finite human mind. He does mine.

Isaiah feared God; he thought he would die, but he did not. Often, I live in fear of God. I fail Him and I wonder if this is the day His patience runs out. Will this be the day that my portion of grace is exhausted? Thankfully, the Lord has a new supply of mercy for me each day. He does for you as well.

Isaiah was cleansed by the Lord, verses 6-7

The Lord sends out an angel with a hot coal to touch his lips and make him clean. Isaiah’s sins are removed and his sin is purged. Long before Jesus was born, the Lord, in looking forward to the birth of His Son, was already in the redemption business. And, this is what redemption is: to have our sins burned away, removed and purged. God has been doing that since the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3.

This is the essence of Christmas, that Jesus came to make sinners clean. There is no other way, no other hope, no other remedy for our sin nature. Jesus is the Way. Like the apostle Peter said, Jesus alone has the words of life. One night about 2,000 years ago, a little baby came to fulfill the promise that God made to Adam in Genesis 3:15: the Seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent. Jesus crushed the devil and destroyed the power of death and hell.

Have you been cleansed by God? Jesus is the soap you are looking for. No one else will take the stench of your sins away, no one can wash away the dark stain of sin on your life, and no one can make you clean like Jesus. You too can be clean. It is instant and permanent; salvation is forever.

Isaiah was ready to serve the Lord, verse 8

You and I are saved to serve the Lord. It is our DUTY to take the Christmas story to all who will listen. We must take it to friend and foe alike. We must be ready for every opportunity to name the name of Jesus and to lift him up. Isaiah did not have to be asked twice; he was eager to tell of the wonder of the Lord Jesus. Are you eager to tell others about Jesus? Are you a bit shy? A bit scared you might say that wrong thing? It is our duty to be ready to answer any and all who would ask about the hope in us.

Will you carry the Christmas story to those around you? Trust me, there are many who still have never heard even living here in North America. Many this very season will have sung along with the Christmas carols on the radio and in the malls, yet they will miss the message, as if these songs are some kind of folklore.

Oh, the job the devil has done to make the greatest message and the best gift just a passing holiday for food, family and presents. But no! God sent His ONLY Son to scream to us ‘come, come you lost; come you broken; come you sinners; come you at death’s door; come and see that the Lord is good. Come get clean and have your sin removed.’ Merry Christmas!

Luke 2: 4-7 “Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.  So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

Matthew 1: 18-25

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.  But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’

“So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:  ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’  Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,  and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son.  And he called His name Jesus.”

I was blessed to have two wonderful men in my life to call Dad.  My father, Clarence Gooding Sr., was born and died in Barbados, my native country.  He was just 48 years old when he went home to be with the Lord.  My father loved the Lord; He was a member of the Gideon’s, a deacon in our church back home, and often preached at churches around the island to fill in for Pastors on vacation or who were ill.  He could often be found reading the scriptures; and I recall hearing him singing as we drove to school each day.  One of his favorite songs is ‘His Eye is On the Sparrow.’

In 1982, when I was 15, my father died from pancreatic cancer; and shortly after my 16^th birthday my family, my mom and two younger brothers moved to Canada.  But God has a great sense of timing.  Not long before my father died, my mom, who lived in Canada for most of the time, was asked to bring a parcel back from Barbados for a man, a friend of a friend.

Andy came by our home in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and met my mom to get the package. She asked him if he went to church.  He did, but she invited him to come to our home church, Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church.  He visited and soon became a regular.  Andy’s wife became ill and she too passed away.  In January 1987 he and my mom married, and he became by second dad.  He has never been my step-dad, just my dad.  I was almost 21 at the time of the wedding, about 6 months shy of graduating seminary.

In recent years I had the privilege of becoming a stepdad and then a father.  Today Andy is still a faithful member, one of the deacons, and is graciously caring for my mom who is suffering with Alzheimer’s. Just a few Sundays ago, he mentioned how he asked the Lord daily to give him the grace and the ability to serve my mom, someone who can never return the ‘favor’.

I have been blessed to have had two of the Godliest men I know in this life to be my dads.  They were/are not perfect, but they both loved the Lord, served Him faithfully, and set a good example for me and my siblings.

In the story of the birth of Jesus we hear of Mary, we are told of the virgin birth, and we are reminded of the Wise Men, the Magi, who were not actually at Jesus’ birth.  Over the years we hear a bit about Joseph, but almost as an aside; he is a minor character in the play.  I beg to differ; I think that the Lord God was very careful in whom He allowed to be the human dad of His Glorious Son.

In today’s passage we will explore the man Joseph.  And to the dads and fathers out there who care for children that are not your ‘own’ by blood, yet claim them, love them, provide for them and treat them like your own blood, hooray for you.  God bless you and make His face to shine on you.

Joseph knew what he was getting into.  By accepting this Son, he was setting himself up for ridicule and shame; he was accepting to be an inferior human father to the perfect Son of God – a gargantuan task. How would he teach the Son of God?  How would He teach the God who made feet to walk?  How would he teach this Son to do anything at all?  Yet he stood up and took his place as the human father of the Heavenly Son, and he did his job.  It was not a glamorous job, but he took it and did it.  Let us look at Joseph today for a few moments and see what the Holy Spirit will teach us men about being fathers and dads.

You need to Love your wife, verse 19

When people read this passage, they do not often think of Joseph’s love for Mary.  But actions speak louder than words.  Joseph was ‘betrothed’, engaged to Mary. They would have had about a year or so from the time they were engaged to the time of the wedding.  In that time, they would not necessarily see each other often.  Joseph would be preparing a place for his wife to move into somewhere on his property.  But lo and behold, Mary came up pregnant.

Joseph knew for sure that it was not his, and Mary would be pleading that God made her pregnant with His Son.  He had a choice to make, and his actions speak of his love for her.  He would have had the right to drag her and publicly shame her into the city square and ask for her to be executed.  In Leviticus 25:10, we see this:

“If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife, with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.”

You may argue that they were not married, but for all intents and purposes, other than the sexual union, they were married according to Jewish law.  Thus, any sexual act not with Joseph was adultery.  The penalty for adultery was death, usually a gruesome one to satisfy the wronged man.  But Joseph was simply going to put her away and end the relationship, quietly and privately.  No big mess, no execution and no public shaming.  He loved her.  He loved her more than himself, more than his pride, and he did not use his hurt feelings as an excuse to strike out and hurt her like he had been hurt.

1 Corinthians 13:4 “Love suffers long AND IS KIND.”  Joseph was showing true genuine love by being kind to the one person that could hurt him the most.

God put Jesus in a loving home – a place where sacrificial love was evident, a place that would need lots and lots of forgiveness as the imperfect humans took care of the only perfect human.

You need to be actively listening to God, verses 20-23

Joseph had a relationship with the Lord that was personal and active.  He was a thinking man, (notice verse 20); he was thinking about the things that were happening:  Mary was pregnant; she said it was from the Lord and not another man.  She had been faithful to him and he needed to trust her.  He was going over these things in his mind and perhaps asking God for wisdom.  The Lord sent an angel to meet with him and give him some instructions.

Just last evening my wife and I were talking about this very thing.  Having a relationship with the Lord, I find that as I think about things and read through the Bible, God answers my prayers and questions, or someone else will come with the answer.  I will hear or see a verse that perfectly answers the need of the moment.

This is the idea of actively listening to God.  We often ask God for answers and then go on without looking for God to answer.  We treat God like He is an inanimate idol incapable of truly hearing or answering.  But if we ask a question, if we have a need, if we have a need for the Lord’s direction, the Lord’s plan and His will then we have to ask, and then LISTEN for the answer.  God will answer. He answered Joseph.

The Lord confirmed Mary’s story and charged Joseph to complete the wedding and take Jesus as his son.  In fact, it was Joseph who named Jesus.  This is what the father did.  Joseph was a man who knew the scripture the angel would recall to him in the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14.  He was a man (though maybe unlearned in the traditional sense of us today), who had learned the Old Testament and maybe had never seen himself as a part of the history contained therein; but he was an integral part.

This is the kind of home that God put His Son in – a home where the father/dad was actively listening to the Lord and in a true relationship with the Lord God – one that knew the scriptures and one that had a personal relationship with the Lord.

You need to be obedient to God, verse 24-25

Joseph immediately obeyed God and married Mary.  There is no point to having an open relationship with the Lord, and no point in asking God for answers if you have no intention of obeying once you know the will of God.  Joseph was a man of obedience.  Obedience to God often brings some kind of burden with it.  In this case he would have to bear the shame of and with his pregnant wife.  But it is important for us to see that, in his heart, Joseph knew God’s will and plan; thus, he was not dissuaded by man’s opinion or jesting.

We know people; and if we were to be honest, if we were Joseph’s friend and we saw him marrying a woman that clearly was pregnant, and that he did not physically have sexual relations with her so as to make her pregnant – and, on top of that, she was claiming that the baby was God’s – I am not sure how I would counsel Joseph.  On top of that, to have the audacity to think that God would use a lowly carpenter like you to fulfill a 700+ year old prophecy is just prideful, my brother. Mary has you hoodwinked; you have sipped too much of the ‘Kool-Aid.’  Get out while you can, my brother, and let her raise God’s son on her own.

But Joseph, in obedience to God against all odds, took Mary as his wife, and in so doing took Jesus as his son.  He willingly bore whatever shame and costs came along with this obedience. He cherished obedience to God over man’s favor.

This is the kind of home that God put His Son in:  one filled with love, one filled with a real active and powerful relationship with the Lord God, and one filled with sacrificial obedience to God.  Joseph was a true man, a leader in his home, and a follower of God.  He was an earthly example to the Heavenly Son.

It is okay if the world overlooks you as a dad; but make no mistake, God sees.  He saw Joseph. He saw my father, and He sees my dad.  He sees you dad; keep loving your wife, keep listening and obeying God.  Merry Christmas.

Luke 2:1-7 “And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.  This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.  So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.  Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

“So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.  And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca