Called to Break Down Barriers

Called to Break Down Barriers

August 13, 2017

Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture: Acts 8:26-39

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter

and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,

so he opens not his mouth.

33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.

Who can describe his generation?

For his life is taken away from the earth.”

34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.

PRAYER

Dear God, by Your grace You have brought us together for fellowship and study. Grant us Your wisdom to recognize Your voice and understand Your Word. Teach us Your ways and empower us with Your Spirit. Help us to open our hearts to Your love, mercy, and grace, and give us the compassion to share these gifts with others; in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

Let me state at the outset that I hope you have read today’s lesson, a very interesting and informative one, but I’m not going to delve much into the lesson itself, because the lesson lends itself to a much wider discussion.

Now, one of the most difficult things for you and I to do is often to step outside our safety zone. We prefer – that is, we feel at ease – when we are interacting with people who look like us, talk like us, and think like us.

Anything else and we’re just not all that comfortable. Our subject today, Philip found himself in that situation, led there by God.

Philip was one of the seven Greek-speaking deacons selected by the church in Jerusalem about 35 AD. And he is led to strike out on a deserted desert road on the way to Samaria. On that lonely journey he meets an Ethiopian official reading scripture and needing someone to interpret it for him so he can understand.

In explaining it to him, Philip marks a major turning point in the history of the church of Jesus Christ. For this marks the unhindered spread of the gospel throughout the world.

Back in Jerusalem the Chief Priests and Roman officials are desperately attempting to throttle any attempt to spread the gospel. But it has never mattered what men intended, outside of the plans of God, nothing is going to stop what God has ordained to happen. So we see new Christian Deacon Philip, and a Christian Ethiopian eunuch, on their way to building a Christian church here in Hermitage, Tennessee; just part of the worldwide spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It took them a while to get here, but time means nothing to God.

A. W. Tozer, in one of my favorite quotes, pointed out, “For those outside of Christ, time is a ravenous beast. But for the sons of the new creation, time crouches and purrs and licks their hands.”

Notice Philip found this fellow on a desert, wilderness road. Philip probably would not have been out there except that an angel directed him out there.

Ever found yourself in a kind of wilderness situation? Somewhere you didn’t really want to be? Wondering why you were there? We just need to remember, if God sent you into it, He will bring you out of it.

In Saturday’s The Tennessean newspaper, in the first section on page 17A, there was an article written by a young man pursuing a B.S. degree in business administration and minor in philosophy at UT. The headline read: “We must have honest religion.” The young man’s name is Hancen A. Sale, a staff columnist at The Daily Beacon, which is the university’s editorial independent newspaper.

In part, he wrote, “Often when someone divorces themselves from a way of life, it is the start of a critical and reflective journey.

“I had meddled in the study of theology for a couple of years until it became very apparent to me no theology could corroborate my human experience. Thus, I left my church, my faith and my ideological safety net.”

“Religion was a dying breed in my mind, yet there still seemed to be much reverence surrounding it: religion has undoubtedly driven so many people to do so many things.”

He went on to talk about how much violence had been created in the world by religion; the Crusades, the twin towers during 911, the Jewish genocide, etc. Yet even though such tremendous evil lives on, religion persists, he wrote. He noted that “religion drove Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to proclaim his dream from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial; that religion inspired Mahatma Gandhi to lead the greatest human rights campaign; and that religious foundations continue to do so much good.”

He asks, “is ardently engaging and defending such a doctrine – within any religion – worth our time? For all the good religion has provoked, it has produced equal parts bad – perhaps, more.”

“Did the early pages of the Torah not demonstrate the dangers of violence? Did a Jewish prophet – Jesus – not proclaim from the Mount that the earth belongs to the meek? Did the Noble Eightfold path not command work for the good of others and opposition to evil? It is certainly evident: religion is the single greatest indication of how division and violence remain the most potent danger humanity will ever face.”

“Thus,” the writer says, “from the religious world to the secular world, we must all ask the question: is our participation – or non-participation – in religion contributing to the violence and division which currently plagues our world.”

“We must divorce ourselves – from our religion, our lifestyle, or our way of life – just long enough to face that question with a profound, resounding honesty.

“Hopefully, that candor will behold a light strong enough to bind all of humanity.” That’s the end of his article.

Now, before I open it up for discussion, I would make several points.

First, it is evident from his passages that like so many this young man knows of Jesus who is the Christ, but he has no relationship with Jesus.

Second, his understanding of history is incomplete. Referring to the Crusades – they were Christian crusades – ignores the 300 years of Muslim ravages across parts of Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The Crusades were called for by the Catholic Popes, who depended upon the European kings for the money and manpower to rescue sacred Christian lands, and free people from brutal and vicious Islamic rule.

And third, he speaks solely about religion, almost as if it were a force of nature. You might say, but God invented religion. Sorry, but God invented mankind, mankind invented religion.

• Before I continue, any thoughts or comments on this article?

Nowhere in the Bible can you find a relationship with God through religion. Religion is a works theology, man thinking he can please God with his works; “if I can do enough, say enough, pray enough, give enough, sacrifice enough perhaps God will show me favor”. Religion is a roadblock to a relationship with God. The writer’s entire approach is based on false assumptions and a misunderstanding of what God wants from us.

In Isaiah 1, Amos 5 and Micah 6, again and again God has told His people what He didn’t want from them in the way of worship, and we have ignored Him. And He doesn’t make it that difficult. In Micah 6:8 we find the words, “…what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Where is the division and violence in that?

The stated purpose of this lesson is, quote, to grasp the importance of and commit to ministering to the marginalized.

This writer is part of that marginalized. Many of the people around you in your daily life are the marginalized. They don’t have to be poor, or homeless or disabled, they simply have to be outside of God, maybe even strapped down with false religion. You can be that bright and shining light of God to them, allowing Jesus Christ to work through you with a kind word, a smile, a refusal to condemn them.

Personally, I’ve often found many people are not outside of God because they want to be, they simply don’t understand. God doesn’t hate them. God isn’t against them. Listen to these words from God in Isaiah 54 to those who had turned their backs on Him, but now come out of Babylonian slavery:

“For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD, your Redeemer.

For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but My steadfast love shall not depart from you, and My covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the LORD, who has compassion on you.”

Perhaps the problem for most of us is, how do we tell them that God has not forgotten them without offending them? Sometimes you have to just follow God’s leading.

In recruit training our Marine Corps drill instructors would shout at us: “Do something even if it’s wrong!” They would later explain that they could fix mistakes, but they could not fix it if we were not willing to at least risk a mistake.

Now, understanding that “wrong” here does not mean “sinful,” do you agree there are times when you need to “do something, even if it’s wrong”?

Have there been situations in your life when this was true? How often as parents do we have to apply doing something, even if it’s wrong? What do you think?

# # #

In 1920, Robert Frost published his wonderful poem, “The Road Not Taken,” which ends:

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence;

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

What about you? Have you ever come to an important fork in the road where you had a great deal of difficulty deciding which road to take or you had trouble getting up the courage to take the right road? How did you decide? How did you find the courage for your decision? What do you think?

Perhaps you recall from a previous lesson that Philip was among those selected as a deacon to parcel out available resources and ensure the widows were treated fairly. It seems by this time Philip no longer needed to fulfill that role, but he seemed ready and willing to take that desert road less traveled by. Any thoughts on why he was so willing to do that?

[He had a great deal of faith in God. Philip trusted God to take care of him as long as he faithfully did what God asked him to do. Moreover, each time he was obedient, he found that God faithfully kept His promises, which increased his faith even more.]

• The Ethiopian seemed to have no problem asking Philip for help, and Philip had no problem responding. But might there not have been social barriers between these two?

• Has anyone here worked with people of different cultural backgrounds, with social barriers? How did you overcome them, and how did that experience enrich you?

• Are there any barriers that exist between us in this church and those in our community, those we would lie to reach for Christ?

[Racial, cultural, economic, educational, generational barriers?]

• If so, how do we go about breaking down these barriers?

[Personal relationships.]

• Are there actions we can take to make strangers feel more welcome when they visit our church, or even our class?

[Freshly microwaved banana bread, at one church.]

[Experience at Presbyterian Church after one visit, and a follow-up visit; during illness, brought dinner.]

[Other experiences?]

Are there any other comments or questions about today’s lesson?

If not, let us close with prayer.

Gracious God, make us sensitive to those around us who may feel as though they cannot approach You. Give us the right words to say so that they understand all You have done for them through Jesus Christ to build a bridge to You. Use us to overcome barriers so that the message of Jesus Christ reaches everyone; in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

My Morning in Court

          On Thursday, August 3, 2017, I answered a subpoena to appear in General Sessions Court, in the Birch Building in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.  Back in June there was a one-driver, two-car collision in front of our home, and I was a witness to it. 

          As it turned out, the morning was pretty much wasted, had to pay for parking, and the case was continued until November.

          The time spent was interesting, however, sitting amongst a large group of people who had made stupid mistakes and now praying to God they don't go to jail.  You slice through the tension.  That was in the observers’ gallery.  While up front the DA, various legal official and lawyers came and went, everyone smile, slapping each other on the back, punch their should, laughing, smiling, getting on with another day at work.

          Judge Dianne Turner began by saying, "We're going to call your name, stand up. If you don't stand and tell us who your lawyer is we'll assume you aren't here and issue a warrant for your arrest.”  One young man came in late, was told by the judge, "You were supposed to be here at 8:30 a.m., it's now 9:20, go through that door to your left and see the Sheriff; he's looking for you."

          Throughout the morning the judge did a lot of pre-trial diversion, with fines and community service, and if you stayed out of trouble for x-number of months you don't go to jail. These were the "stupid mistake" type arrests.

          It was also interesting to note the look of most of those who came before the judge. Pants that had to be pulled up constantly -- there was a big sign on the entry door to the courtroom stating what attire was not permissible in her courtroom -- colorful threads and streaks tied throughout the hair, bizarre tattoos everywhere, rings and things in the ears, nose and lips. One young lady almost had a very short, tight, colorful dress on, bare from just above her nipples up, sleeveless, so short you did not want to see her sit down. Her attorney brought her up while the judge was looking down signing pages, and positioned her directly behind a tall podium so the judge saw her only from the neck up. Her case was continued until later in the year.  I wondered if her lawyer was buying time to share a “court room attire” lecture with her.

          Just seemed like a lot of folks who wanted to be noticed, who wanted to be seen as "bucking the system," but someone crossed that line a little too far and slipped into the "illegal" pool.  But their “look” set them apart from others in the court room and left no surprise that they were there before the judge.

          There were also several cases of people without driver's licenses who were sent away to get a license and return later in the year or go to jail. One young woman was there for a traffic accident, case continued, but the accident caused no injuries, only property damage, so the fact she had seven previous accidents on her driving record (I saw this, the court did not) would not be brought up in court. Well, whatever. We have to leave room in our jails for the crime-wave thieves, rapists, child molesters and murderers. And the jails across the nation are full up. Makes you wonder what goes on at the family level that so many people have no empathy for others, and seek only to serve themselves. Reminds me of a brief conversation from my Marine Corps days: "But sir...! " "But sir hell, get in that cell!"

          There was one humorous aspect to the morning’s adventure.  I was there only as a witness, and had mercy on my mind.  But I showed up in shirt and tie, suit coat and trousers, with my pastor's cross around my neck.  Normal attire for a court room appearance … for me.  This garnered a quizzical look at one time or another from just about everyone in the courtroom (even the lady judge kept looking my way), and you could see the question on their faces: "Holy crap! What did he do?!"

          It’s been said that all the world’s a stage, but it occurred to me that while all the good actors may be on that stage, all the clowns are in General Sessions Court.

Biblical Sexual Ethics are Confusing Many

Sunday Sermon: Biblical Sexual Ethics are Confusing Many

By Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture: Romans 8:28

”And we know that God works all things together for those who love God, for those who are called according to His purposes.”

Charles Spurgeon is quoted as saying, “This present age is so flippant that if a man loves the Savior he is a fanatic and if he hates the powers of evil, he is a bigot.”

No doubt about it, there are many things in this present age that are confusing. But it has been that way in every age. Yet men and women of God need not be confused, for they are given explicit and direct guidance in the word of God regarding how to conduct themselves.

Nevertheless, the number of professing Christians who reject the traditional Biblical sexual ethic has been steadily increasing over the last few years as men and women succumb to the societal pressures of “political correctness.” Except that such deliberate ignorance of God’s word is neither politic nor correct.

Many of those once submitting to the Bible’s clear condemnation of homosexual behavior now propose that theologians have long been off base in their interpretation of the texts addressing this issue. They don’t believe the Scriptures speak ill of loving, monogamous same-sex relationships, but only homosexual activity in the context of rape, child molestation, and idol worship. They may believe that all they wish, but none of it is supported by scripture.

The word of God is very clear – “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." (Lev. 18:22 & Lev. 20:13). And since this is neither a civil nor a ceremonial law but a moral law in Leviticus, there is no expiration date. It still stands today. God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Now, no one should misunderstand this as a demand that we judge and ostracize those who disagree with God. The Almighty gives each of us free will, and we are free to hate God if we so choose. And some of us do exactly that in order to serve ourselves, and not God. God will do the judging, although some of us think that’s our job.

However, there is a big difference between judging someone, and discerning evil. The two are not the same at all. In the Bible, the word "judge" is often a poor translation of the Greek word "katakrino." This word literally means "to judge against." In other words, it really means "to condemn." But there is another Greek word, "krino," which is often translated "to discern." "Krino" literally means "to separate." Or, to put it more clearly, it means "to separate the good from the bad."

The word of God calls for us to have a fine balance between head and heart. Biblical Christianity means loving God and others fervently, from the heart; but also, such love is in line with God’s truth as revealed in His Word. Exercising such love is what leads us to Christian maturity. Love for God or others that is not based on truth is just deluded emotionalism. But truth devoid of love leads to arrogance.

The signpost we are looking for leading to the true love of God is true knowledge. Since God cannot be known except as He has revealed Himself, such true knowledge of God can only be obtained through His Word. Since God Himself is love, to grow in the true knowledge of God is to grow to understand what true love is.

Now, this true knowledge of God as revealed in His Word is essential if you want to grow in love. We can’t know love by looking at our society, our culture. We can only know what love looks like by studying the character of God, especially as revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ, God in human flesh. And as we study Him, we see in Matthew 23 where He lashed into the Pharisees, we may even be a bit shocked as He takes whip in hand to clear the filth from His Father’s temple. And yet our Jesus is the epitome of love. Not a clay mask that one puts on to please others, or to get what our free will desires, but a love that loves even the unlovely, that wades into the mud to pull a sinner free, or empties his own pockets so an unregenerate shyster can eat this day. The love of Christ applies itself to the person, to the situation. The need does not twist itself around to fit the requirements of our version of tough love. That’s the short-sighted love of political correctness.

It seems as though today if you criticize someone else’s doctrine or personal life, no matter how unbiblical either might be, you are not loving, you are a “hater”, and you are arrogant to be judging that person. The well-known words of Jesus, “Judge not, lest you be judged” from Matthew 7:1 are twisted out of context and misapplied. But if you keep reading, Jesus goes on to say, in Matthew 7:6, “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine”. And yet, how do you determine if someone is that dog or that swine if you don’t make discerning judgments? Later on in Matthew 7:15 Jesus warns us to beware of false prophets who come as wolves in sheep’s clothing. If we are discerning we see this isn’t a fellow-sheep before us whom we need to embrace, but a ravenous wolf we need to avoid!

So we see that Biblical love cannot be divorced from the true knowledge of God and from the discernment between truth and error, between right and wrong that comes from a careful knowledge of Scripture, that Biblical love is inextricably bound up with discernment, not with the judgment of men, but with God-given discernment.

I leave you with the wisdom of Philippians 1:9-11: “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we find strength and boldness in the knowledge that You have not abandoned us to the machinations of this world, but continue to teach us through the presence of the Holy Spirit, ensuring we have the knowledge of scripture available to us with which to employ the wisdom of discernment in dealing with others, and through our knowledge of the love of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Father, that as Your own we are able to draw others to You, by the blessed and incomparable love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

History Is Happening Right Before Our Eyes

by Pastor Ed Evans

With all we see going on in America today, those of my generation decry the college crowd with buttercup brains and butterfly hearts, and wonder about the future of America as they come of age. 

I submit we are watching, in our own time, the disintegration akin to that of the Roman Empire. Same criminal graft, same selfish guilt, same meltdown of male and female roles, same paucity of discipline in the military armed forces. Our enemies simply bide their time. If you read Revelations in your Bible, you will see that America is not there when Christ returns. We are watching the reason.

Of course, for those who already have a relationship with Jesus Christ, this is all the more reason to constantly share the Good News of Jesus Christ at every opportunity, For 2nd Timothy 4:3 tells us, "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions..." Oh wait, it's here and once again we see it happening right now, don't we. History continues to ramble on right before our eyes. Ethical and moral walls fall, "understood" rules of behavior crumble before social depravity and ravenous hungers of strange types.

Everything of which the prophets of old warned us is coming into being as mankind reveres and fawns before the fleshly creation, rather than the Creator. Right before our eyes. With all the modern advances and such industrial wisdom and intelligence being displayed for the betterment of mankind, who would have thought the moral and ethical ground upon which society stands would begin to disintegrate so easily, and so soon. Who would have thought it. God did. And He told us so.

There is a remedy, an answer, and we've known it all along. But then, the truth of 2nd Tiothy 4:3 is in motion, and the axe is falling.

The Peaceful Kingdom

by Pastor Ed Evans

TEXT: Isaiah 11:1-9

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide disputes by what his ears hear,

4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,

and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;

and a little child shall lead them.

7 The cow and the bear shall graze;

their young shall lie down together;

and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,

and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.

9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain;

for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD

as the waters cover the sea.

This text from the book of Isaiah is so amazing, maybe we should get to know the Prophet Isaiah better – that is, all three of him. Bible scholars tell us there were three Isaiahs.

The book of Isaiah is named for Isaiah ben Amoz, who prophesied in the middle of the eighth century, B.C., about the time of the Assyrian invasion of Israel and Judah. Scholars tell us that Isaiah ben Amoz wrote Chapters 1 – 39, but the book of Isaiah contains two more collections of prophecy after his death.

The anonymous author of Chapters 40-55 lived nearly 200 years later, during the Babylonian Exile. He was prophesying an end to the Exile, and a marvelous homecoming of the exiles to Jerusalem. This author is called “Second Isaiah”.

Chapters 55-66 are attributed to another source, known as “Third Isaiah”. This author wrote about the end of the Exile and looked forward to the restoration of Jerusalem.

You will note that the title of our Study Book is “The Sovereignty of God”. When you hear the word “sovereignty”, what images come to mind? Maybe a ruling authority figure, like a president or prime minister? A monarch or a dictator?

The word “sovereignty” implies power. Someone who is sovereign over us has the authority and power to rule over us. If you go looking for synonyms in your Thesaurus, you’ll find supreme, dominant, absolute, superior. These all indicate that a sovereign has great power to demand compliance if not obedience to his or her will. Now, we know that earthly sovereigns vary a great deal in how they exercise their power. Some are dictatorial and demand absolute obedience from those they rule. Others, like an elected president or a prime minister, have checks and balances on their power.

So if we are going to talk about God’s sovereignty, a related question is what kind of subjects are we called to be? In today’s text, we see a hoped-for sovereign who will usher in a peaceful kingdom in which harmony and security reign. Traditional enemies in the animal kingdom will coexist in peace according to this vision. Even the most vulnerable of human beings – babies and toddlers – will not need to fear danger in this kingdom. Our challenge will be – how do we live into this vision?

So let’s start at the first verse of Chapter 11 and see what we can learn.

You see the start of those first verses are very different from most of what you will find in Isaiah. While most of the prophetic writings of Isaiah ben Amoz concern God’s judgment on Israel and other nations, these first passages are one of hope for the future.

The image here is of a tree stump, likely connected to the previous verses in Chapter 10 that describe God’s judgment against Assyria, where the Assyrians are about to be “cut down and laid low.” Out of the stump of Jessie will come a “shoot,” a future ruler who will restore Israel’s fortunes and establish God’s reign.

Any gardeners here? If so, you know that if you cut down a tree or a large bush, after some time you get a “green shoot”. The roots are still alive and growing.

In this case the Jessie that is the stump was King David’s father, and the “shoot” would be a Davidic monarchy.

In verse 2 we find out that the hoped-for monarch is described as endowed with the Lord’s Spirit. The characteristics of this ruler are listed as: wisdom, understanding, planning or counsel, strength or might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord.

As a young Christian it used to bother me when I read about “fear of the Lord.” How did God’s love for me fit with me being afraid of Him. But the “fear of the Lord” as used here does not mean to be afraid of God, but rather to live with a deep and profound respect toward God. The words “reverence” and “awe” are good synonyms for “fear of the Lord.”

The “fear of the Lord” theme continues into the third verse and expands upon it. This coming ruler’s fear of the Lord will not be mere duty but will be his “delight.” The word “delight” as used here can be translated “to take pleasure in.” The fear of the Lord will be at the heart of this ruler’s relationship with God and will be a joy rather than a burden. This ruler will not judge by superficial appearances or by words alone.

As a matter of fact, this ruler will issue judgments based on righteousness and equity. The poor and the meek will receive justice based not on their status or their bank account but on their relationship with God. Wouldn’t that be a different type of legal system?

As we read on, graphic verses of prophesy, metaphors and poetry describe the differences in justice, contrasting the treatment of the poor and meek with that of the wicked.

By verse 6 through verse 8, Isaiah begins describing the “peaceful kingdom”, where traditional enemies actually dwell in harmony. These verses read like the restoration of God’s divine purpose for creation; the Garden of Eden.

You remember the Garden of Eden, that’s where God introduced Adam to Eve. And after Adam and Eve had talked, Adam was almost overcome. He said, “God, she’s beautiful! Why did you make her so beautiful?” God said, “So you would like her, Adam.” And Adam said, “Yeah, but she ain’t exactly a genius, God.” And God said, “That’s so she would like you, Adam.”

One more Garden of Eden story ….. It seems Eve and their first son were standing outside the Garden one day. The little boy was looking at the gate across the Garden entrance, and the angels guarding it. And he asked his mother, Eve, “What is that, Mommy?” Eve replied that they used to live there. “Why don’t we live there now, Mommy, it looks beautiful.” Eve said, “Oh, it is beautiful, my son, but your Father ate us out of house and home.” (But you won't find either of those two stories in the Bible.)

Okay now, two words that highlight this narrative of the kingdom of peace are “harmony” and “security. We’ve all seen images on TV of the cheetah or the lion chasing down an antelope or a gazelle. Natural enemies. If it’s an antelope at the watering hole when the big cat appears, you’ll see that antelope break and run for all its worth.

After I retired from the Marine Corps and joined the Woodmen of the World life insurance sales team in Indiana, they used to tell a story about lions and gazelles. The story was that somewhere on the Serengeti Plain a lion woke up each morning knowing that if it was going to eat that day, it had to be faster than the fastest gazelle out there. And somewhere on that Plain a gazelle awoke knowing that if it was going to stay alive that day it had to be faster than the fastest lion out there. But the moral of that story was that whether you were a lion or a gazelle, you better wake up running. No pressure, right?

We do live in a violent society. Each evening the TV newscast right here in Nashville is evidence of that. But by verse 9, the peaceable kingdom our lesson talks about has begun to take hold. No harm or destruction will exist in the reign of this new monarch. The “holy mountain” is not a specific mountain such as Mount Sinai, but it is a metaphorical mountain where God is fully present, such as the Jewish Temple.

Isaiah 2:2 mentions this “holy mountain,” where it is called “the mountain of the Lord’s house.” Isaiah uses the image of the Lord’s mountain throughout his prophecies to refer to the Temple in Jerusalem where God’s people believed God’s presence dwelt.

Now, this transformed kingdom of peace can occur because everyone will have “full knowledge of the Lord.” This knowledge is not simply knowing the laws of the Mosaic covenant but it’s more along the lines of Jeremiah 31:33, which described God’s law, or “Instructions,” being written “within” humans and engraved “on their hearts.” What we are referring to as “knowledge of the Lord” is a relationship of knowing and being known by God.

As I mentioned at the beginning, when we focus on the question of what kind of sovereignty does God exercise, related to that question is what kind of subjects are we called to be?

Because you see, we are not on the outside looking in – as if we were watching some TV program, or like the ancient Romans sitting safely outside the arena watching the combatants, down in the arena. We ARE the combatants in the arena, you and I. We ARE participants in the divine life of the Holy Trinity. Life is going on all around us, and we are God’s part of it. But what part do we play in God’s peaceful kingdom?

Well, let us lay the groundwork for that answer by considering the qualities WE would look for in an ideal ruler. What traits would you want to see? We have an election coming up, so without naming names, what traits are important in a candidate for President? (Honesty, responsibility, intelligence, compassion, skill, and knowledge?) In today’s scripture, verses 2 – 5, we find the prophet Isaiah has listed the qualities of the hoped-for ruler: wisdom, understanding, planning, strength, knowledge, fear of the Lord, true discernment, righteousness and equity.

It’s no wonder the writers of the New Testament Gospels saw this description of the ideal ruler fulfilled in Jesus Christ; seeing Isaiah 11:2-9 as a messianic prophesy describing the coming Messiah and the kingdom He would usher in.

As we’ve noted before, the human propensity for violence is well-documented. Our human history is filled with wars, conflicts, and disputes of all kinds. Job, chapter 5, verse 7 tells us that “…man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.” However, since no one person can control history, we need to focus on our daily lives and ask, “How can I live less violently?” What if we were to teach students in school about the merits of ethics and morals, about the sources of violence, such as fear, anger, power, and stereotyping, and how to respond positively with communication, understanding, affirmation, and forgiveness, putting emphasis on creative conflict transformation.

You see, violence is not always physical conflict. Myself and others met with Congressman Jim Cooper last week about other issues, and he shared his own concerns. He talked about conflict at the Federal, State and local level in politics; said he had never seen such polarization.

Many people today still believe that our nation was founded upon the principle of separation of church and state, even though there is nothing in either the U.S. Constitution or the Bill of Rights about it. But they give the church little credit for problem solving. But in fact the Church, Christianity is an “alternatives to violence program” in its own way. It holds up this vision of Isaiah 11:1-9 as how the world should and could be with God’s presence. This is a vision toward which we are called to live. But how do we translate this ideal vision of a peaceful kingdom into everyday life?

Well, I have three suggestions for you to consider.

First, we can become aware of how we overtly and indirectly use or encourage violence in our own lives. Self-awareness is always the first step to change. We should look carefully at ourselves and ask, “When am I tempted to use violent actions or words to resolve a conflict?” Think about it.

Second, we can become aware of the feelings that might lead to aggressive words or action. Feelings such as “fear of the other”, anger, inadequacy, powerlessness, or jealousy can lead to violence. But they don’t have to. We don’t have to act on our feelings. Someone has pointed out that we don’t have to attend every fight to which we’re invited. If we can’t control our feelings, we can release our anger on an inanimate object such as a pillow or a mattress rather than on another person.

And third, we can overcome our tendency to violence with forgiveness and love. As 1st John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear.” Since fear is at the heart of many violent urges, love can show us a different way to deal with conflict. The way of love leads to a desire for peace, harmony and security.

Here in Nashville, Tennessee, Dodson Chapel United Methodist Church has had on their sign for the past month the message: “Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can drive out hate.”

When guided by the love we see revealed in Jesus Christ, we no longer need to use violent means to achieve who we want to be, where we want to be, and what we want to be.

Singer Todd Rundgren released a song in 1997 titled “Love is the Answer,” and part of the lyrics cried out: “Light of the world, shine on me. Love is the answer. Shine on us all, set us free. Love is the answer.”

I submit that people like you and I know that love is the answer, and someone needs to tell the rest of the world, so we can live into that peaceful kingdom. Tell the world. Love is the answer. Amen?

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“Holy God, You have drawn us into the divine family through Your Son. May Your peaceful kingdom be expressed in our lives, made eloquent by the love of Christ; in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen."