For God So Loved the World

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For God So Loved the World

• Sunday, December 2, 2007
• First Sunday of Advent

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Long Ago Far Away . . .

• Prophetic voices
• a change is coming

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Example Isaiah 6 11

• 1 In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the
  Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with
  the train of His robe filling the temple.
• 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six
  wings with two he covered his face, and with two
  he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

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Isaiah 61-5

• 3 And one called out to another and said,
  "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The
  whole earth is full of His glory."

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Isaiah 61-5

• 4 And the foundations of the thresholds
  trembled at the voice of him who called out,
  while the temple was filling with smoke.
• 5 Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined!
  Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live
  among a people of unclean lips For my eyes have
  seen the King, the LORD of hosts."

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Contrast Isaiah 111-9

• 1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of
  Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear
  fruit.
• 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The
  spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of
  counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and
  the fear of the LORD.

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Especially verse 9

• Isaiah 119 They will not hurt or destroy in all
  My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of
  the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the
  sea.

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Change

• Isaiah has a revelation of a mystery that
  someone called a shoot from the stem of Jesse
  will make apparent to all
• the earth will be full of the knowledge of the
  LORD As the waters cover the sea

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Another ExampleJeremiah 3129-33

• 29 "In those days they will not say again, 'The
  fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children'
  s teeth are set on edge.'
• 30 "But everyone will die for his own iniquity
  each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will
  be set on edge.

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Jeremiah 3129-33

• 31 "Behold, days are coming," declares the
  LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the
  house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
• 32 not like the covenant which I made with
  their fathers in the day I took them by the hand
  to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My
  covenant which they broke, although I was a
  husband to them," declares the LORD.

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Jeremiah 3129-33

• 33 "But this is the covenant which I will make
  with the house of Israel after those days,"
  declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them
  and on their heart I will write it and I will be
  their God, and they shall be My people.

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God Promised Change

• He had a plan . . .

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Visit to Tung Fook Church

• Things to learn
• Something good to offer
• A plan to give it away

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Gary Joy Also Do This

• Fall of 2001 Exeter Winchester

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Not So Surprising

• For God so loved the world, he made a plan to
  change it when He saw that it needed to be fixed

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What Was Gods Plan Like?

• Came to us
• Comforted the afflicted afflicted the
  comfortable
• Raised our eyes to heaven (words deeds)
• Made a way for us to be reconciled with the
  Father and receive the Holy Spirit

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Philippians 25-7

• 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was
  also in Christ Jesus,
• 6 who, although He existed in the form of God,
  did not regard equality with God a thing to be
  grasped,
• 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a
  bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of
  men.

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Fresh Perspective

• We started this year with a dream that we could
  help more people understand why weve built this
  community this way, the foundational values of
  our life together
• We also wanted to bring home the reality that we
  can make a difference, we can impact our larger
  community

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Implication

• If we dont keep pushing outward, trying to do
  this, it might be like Jesus, if He had regarded
  equality with God a thing to be grasped

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The Way Forward

• Right away Advent conspiracy plan
• Canadian Foodgrains Bank
• New Year Will Hannah

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The Birth of John the Baptist

• 67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the
  Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying
• 68 "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He
  has visited us and accomplished redemption for
  His people,
• 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
  In the house of David His servant --
• 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy
  prophets from of old --

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The Birth of John the Baptist

• 71 Salvation FROM OUR ENEMIES, And FROM THE
  HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US
• 72 To show mercy toward our fathers, And to
  remember His holy covenant,
• 73 The oath which He swore to Abraham our
  father,

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The Birth of John the Baptist

• 74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the
  hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without
  fear,
• 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all
  our days.
• 76 "And you, child, will be called the prophet
  of the Most High For you will go on BEFORE THE
  LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS

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The Birth of John the Baptist

• 77 To give to His people the knowledge of
  salvation By the forgiveness of their sins,
• 78 Because of the tender mercy of our God, With
  which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
• 79 TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND
  THE SHADOW OF DEATH, To guide our feet into the
  way of peace."