Matthew 6:12: “… as we forgive those who trespass against us”

 Presented to 614 Warehouse pm service, 22 October 2017 (abridged version in the am) by Captain Michael Ramsay

To read the 2022 Alberni Valley version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2022/03/matthew-612-as-we-forgive-those-who.html

  

Hello everyone. It is good to be back, I missed church here and the many friends that we have around here over the previous few weeks. While I was away we experienced some interesting things:

• We went to Wye Marsh and were able to walk around the woods there. They had some owls that lived there. What were the kinds of owls there, Heather? It was great. They even talked to us. Heather was having some great conversations with many of them as they all clamoured for her attention. There was one owl that looked like Gonzo - do you remember Gonzo from the Muppets? - He was neat. If I would hold out my arms he would hold out his wing. It was a lot of fun.
• Of course, we were able to join you here at Warehouse for Thanksgiving. That was a blessing. We also had a Thanksgiving dinner and other dinners at home that Susan and the girls made and decorated.
• I was blessed to be able to say grace and ask the blessing as I addressed the gala to celebrate Toronto Kiwanis Club’s centennial celebrations.
• We had some good family times. I went to the Argos game with my kids - yes, we are all in green. You can take the person out of Rider Nation, Saskatchewan but you can't take Rider Nation out of the person.
• I finished writing another book - now I just need to get it edited and complete all the requisite Army paperwork.
• I got caught up with old friends Majors Stephen Court and Danielle Strickland. They are great Godly people. They sent us into the work and are always a great help when things are difficult.

It has been a difficult time. It is interesting. When things are difficult you learn who your friends are and maybe you learn who your friends aren't. Times away can really be eye openers. Thursday and Friday, we were at The Global Leadership Summit. It was a great conference streamed at THQ; we learned a lot. There were very many good speakers. One lady - Juliet Funt (her dad hosted that show, Candid Camera many years ago; remember that show) – she spoke about something called 'white space', the strategic pause of even a mere moment but with intent. Over the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to more than pause, to pray, and to reflect quite a bit.

How we use time away - especially difficult time away is very important. How I used that time was very important. I was upset. I know some here know what it like to be upset. I know some of us here know what it is like to be betrayed, to be falsely accused and to anxiously wait to finally be exonerated. I have spent a lot of time in court rooms and prison ministries in the past. I know how our hearts and our minds can become consumed with all kinds of bad thoughts when life's circumstances seem to be bad and some people around us seem to be bad and other people and institutions and processes that we have mistakenly placed our trust in also appear to be bad. I know it can be very anxious when after a person is cleared, they are thrust back into an environment where they must face their accuser. It is tough. I know this.

            I don't know how much attention people pay to the sermons I have preached over the years here but one key theme to which I keep returning is forgiveness. It is central to Christianity, to following Christ, and it is the most powerful way for us to remove hate and fear from our lives. Hate and unforgiveness kill us and unforgiveness, as I have often said, is a self-inflicted wound. So-and-so may have hurt you when they did that terrible thing to you but you hurt yourself over and over again when you do not forgive them. They aren't necessarily hurt by your unforgiveness. They might not even know you are mad at them but if every time you think about that person if your heart hardens, your mind tightens, and you stomach and back ache, then your unforgiveness is killing you. We actually have the power to forgive and be released from the pain we are suffering but it is not easy.

            Let me share with you another story were heard at the Global Leadership Summit at THQ this week. This one is from Immaculee Ilibagiza. She says, “Forgiveness is possible in every situation”; she says, “God is always right; whatever our Lord tells us to do is right. And God tells us to forgive.” Immaculee is a Rwandan and she is a Tutsi. Does anyone here remember the Rwandan genocide?

            In the late 20th Century people in Rwanda were required to carry racial ID cards stating whether you are a Hutu, Tutsi, Pygmy, or another race. This is reminiscent of South African Apartied, American segregation, or the star Jews had to wear during WWII. In 1994, the president of Rwanda's plane was shot down and this unleashed the brutality that had apparently been building up for years. She remembers now hearing radio programs promoting hatred and violence against the minority Tutsis by the majority Hutus for years before the genocide but she never thought much if it. We hear wakkos spreading hate on our TVs, radios, and social media every day and every minute here now. Everybody seems to hate somebody for something. She didn't think much of it then - just a few Hutus publicly hating Tutsis. But then with the death of the president it unleashed a genocidal wave that wiped out about a million lives in about 90 days. The people on the radio were calling for Hutus to track down their Tutsi neighbours and not only report on them but to actually kill them. I remember reading the horror stories in the news at that time of neighbours hacking apart neighbours with machetes.

            Immaculee remembers her mother, her father, and her brothers sent her away when this began. They wanted her to be safe. The sent her to hide in the house of a Hutu pastor. She remembers that she was put in a bathroom, 3ft by 4ft, and told not to leave the room and not to make any noise. She remembers saying or thinking, 'I can't stay here it is too small; Then two more girls came to live in that room and then two more and then more and then soon the room was jam-packed with girls and they couldn't leave in the daylight and they couldn’t make any noise at all - if anyone knew they were there they could, they would, be killed.

            Immaculee remembers one day a death squad came to search the house. A chain of people surrounded the house so that if they found any Tutsi in the house they couldn't escape. Then the searchers came into the house. They searched in closets, they searched in the halls, they searched in the ceiling, they searched in the floor. They even searched in suitcases in case someone might be trying to hide a small child in one. They were looking for Tutsis and if they found one, even a child, they would kill her.

            She remembers when searchers were close to their hiding place, a part of her wanted to run out and defy them and a part of her wanted to remain hidden. She is Catholic and she prayed, "God, if You are who You are, please don't let them look in this room" and then she fainted. When she came to, the evangelical Hutu pastor who was harbouring them said that they were by the door when one searcher said, ‘Mr. So-and-So, you are a good man, you wouldn't have anyone in your house’ and they left.

            They stayed three months jam packed in that washroom. They had nothing to do so they asked that a radio be placed where they could hear it and on it they heard day after day the government inciting people to hate and kill them and day after day people were. One government official even encouraged the Hutu to kill Tutsi children saying, "the child of a snake is still a snake," Hate is powerful, When you hear people plotting to kill you and your loved ones it is easy to grab onto hate and try to get through this time by hating your enemies and plotting a real or imagined vengeance at the expense your soul. Now to make her soul an even more fertile ground for hate to grow, on her first night of the 90 nights she spent in that washroom, pressed up against all of the others, she heard the news that her mother, and father, and brothers, were hacked to death.

            Whether in that room or afterwards I do not remember, she had her Rosary beads with her. When God answered her prayer and the searchers did not come in her room she knew God was real more than she ever knew before and so she would pray her Rosary prayers all the more. One of the prayers on the Rosary is the Lord's Prayer. She would pray it regularly but then she would get to the part that says please forgive our trespasses (our sins) as we forgive those who trespass (sin) against us. But surely God didn't mean me? How can I forgive the sins of what has been done to me? How can I forgive my enemies – when they killed my mother, my father, my brothers, and my family? She got to the point where because she knows God is real and He knows everything, she wouldn't even say those words in the Lord's Prayer – forgive us our sins as we forgive others - she would skip them over because she didn’t want to forgive them but then, of course, all-knowing God knows she is skipping those words. She came to realize this and so she opened her Bible to find some relief from this conviction to forgive her enemies. She opened her Bible and it said:

• Pray for your enemies, so she closed it and opened it again,
• Pray for those who persecute you, close,
• Forgive your enemies!

And then she remembered God, Jesus on Cross: do you remember what some his last recorded words are - about those who have put him up on that cross to die? Jesus said, "Father forgive them" and then Jesus said "for they do not know what they do". Jesus forgave his enemies. Jesus says, "Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." Jesus himself told us to forgive others as we want to be forgiven.

            Immaculee says, “Forgiveness is possible in every situation and God is always right; whatever our Lord tells us to do is right. God tells us to forgive.”

            And if Jesus forgives those who put him on a Cross to kill him and if Immaculee can forgive those who killed her family and extended family and the people she loves then surely we can forgive those who hurt us.

            In the conference we were at, Bill Hybels invited us to think of a person who has recently hurt us. He invited us to think of someone who when we think of them our muscles tighten and our hearts harden. He asked us to forgive them and free ourselves from the pain of unforgiveness. I know that is not easy because the person I still need to forgive was in the same room that afternoon. The speaker invited us to make up with our attackers and I will keep trying. And when I forgive them in my heart then maybe even I can forgive them with my words, for forgiveness is possible in every situation; God is always right; whatever our Lord tells us to do is right. God tells us to forgive.

Let us pray

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Isaiah 7:9b: Stand Firm!

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army February 09, 2014 and January 31, 2010 by Captain Michael Ramsay
  

Click here to read the 2010 version: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2010/01/isaiah-79b-stand-firm.html

 

Isaiah 7:9b “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.’”

I remember when I was in elementary school: when I was in the intermediate grades, probably Grade 5 or Grade 6. Across the street from our elementary school there was a senior high school for Grade 11 and 12 students, sixteen and seventeen year-olds. Every spring, it would seem, there was a ritual. (For the record, where I grew up there was no snow on the ground in March – ever!) At lunch time, some of us grade fives and sixes would get up the nerve to go across the street and provoke some grade eleven’s and twelve’s who would be smoking outside or just lounging on the lawn. At first one or two of us would run across the street and call a small group of the high school students various names hoping that the sixteen and seventeen year-olds would chase us back across the street to the elementary school… where we had a trap set for them. We had a plan: the entire grade five and six classes were lying in wait ready to ambush them, dog pile on them, jump on them. We were looking for a play fight.

At first we -the selected two or three grade fives and sixes- would go across the street to try to get the high school students to chase us. But as soon as the high school students just moved or said ‘boo’ we grade fives would be running back across the street as fast as we could. The teenagers would then go back to whatever they were doing until we would return. Eventually we grade fives and sixes would get braver and the high school students would actually have to get up before we fled. Then we kids became even braver and so the high school students would have to stand up before we ran away. And then we became even braver still so that the older students would actually have to run right at us before we would flee. Then the moment would finally come – the moment we were waiting for – the moment finally comes when there is a group of about eight of us grade fives and sixes brave enough to actually entice some Grade 11/12s to chase us back to the elementary school where, remember, there are about sixty grade fives and sixes ready to pounce on them so the Grade 11/12s come running across the street right into the trap with 50 grade fives and sixes waiting for them and inevitably - as soon as the teenagers fall right in our trap and we have them right where we want them - when the time we are waiting for has come about and everything is perfectly set-up… we all run away…all 50 or 60 of us…we aren’t really brave enough to stand our ground…and instead of us now pursuing them, they continue to chase us.

Isaiah 7:9b: “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.’”

We remember about the historical context of the time of the prophet Isaiah from our recent sermons, homilies, and Bible studies. The countries of Israel and Judah (as well as other Palestinian states such as Aram/Syria and the Philistines, Edom, Ammon, Moab, the Phoenicians, etc.) were threatened by the paramount superpower of their day, Assyria. So then Israel and Aram/Syria propose that Judah team up with them like a group of grade five or six students and attack the high school of Assyria. The King of Judah, following the advice the prophet Isaiah will have none of this. He wants to stay out of the fight. Because of this Aram/Syria and Israel decide to gang up on and attack Judah.[1] King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel, like rebellious grade school boys, decide to attack Judah and implement a regime change (Isaiah 7:1,2; See 2 Kings 15:37; 2 Kings 16:5).[2] They decide to pick a fight with Judah and then put one of their friends, someone sympathetic to their cause, on Judah’s throne (Isaiah 7:6) – and because of this, Ahaz, the King of Judah is afraid and the hearts of his people, Isaiah 7:2 records, ‘shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind’.

It is in this context that the Prophet Isaiah comes to the King of Judah and assures him to ‘keep calm and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smouldering stubs of firewood’ (Isaiah 7:4). He tells King Ahaz that the impending invasion will not be successful. He tells King Ahaz that the regime change they want to implement will not happen (Isaiah 7:7) and more than that he tells King Ahaz that the troublemakers will get a detention. Syria/Aram and Israel will be shattered (Isaiah 7:8,9); they will not stand. But it seems that Ahaz does not believe Isaiah.[3] He will not obey God’s command (via Isaiah) to ask for a sign (Isaiah 7:11-12; See Deuteronomy 16:6; Matthew 4:6,7; Luke 4; see also the story of Gideon, Judges 6:14, 17-18, 38-40). Israel does not stand firm in their faith and it is not spared.[4] Judah however does stand against Israel and against Aram/Syria and Judah is spared - but Judah too is only spared for a time. Judah, Jerusalem, the line of David and even God’s Temple will all eventually fall to Babylon, Assyria’s successor. They do not remain standing and, Isaiah 7:9b, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.’”

And the same is true of us today, if we do not stand firm in our faith we will not stand at all. How many people under the age of 20 are in churches around this country today? Not many. How many people under forty are in churches around this country today? Not many. How many people under fifty are in churches around this country today? Not many. We no longer have the Lord’s Prayer in our schools. This century, we no longer have the Lord’s Prayer in the House of Commons. Bible reading no longer happens in the classrooms. Gideon Bibles, which used to be handed out coast to coast in this country, are no longer welcome in many classrooms across this nation. Even in this very province, Bibles are being removed from hospital rooms. I was part of a group of people in Nipawin who were questioning the health district about their decision to remove Bibles from hospital rooms. In Tisdale, the senior’s care centre handed their Bibles to Susan saying we don’t need these anymore. Also in Tisdale, I felt compelled to respond to a letter to the editor that complained that a minister mentioned Christ in a Remembrance Day Ceremony.[5] I, myself, have been instructed in situations (not in this province) to not mention Christ’s name at various public venues. What will we do in this province as more and more people challenge our responsibility to share our faith? Will we stand firm? Isaiah 7:9b, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.’”

The enemy is at our gate as much as he is was at the gates of Abraham’s promised land. The enemy is at our gates as much as he was at King Ahaz’s gate. Isaiah 7:9b: “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.’” Israel failed to stand firm here and Israel fell first and Judah later fell. If we fail to stand firm, we too will fall. And there is proof of this…and this proof –as weird as it sounds- is the Good News.

The proof we’ll stand is that “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).  Isaiah 9:6-7: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end…”

This is exciting! Now a number of brilliant theologians and scholars have come up with many different ideas as to who this person, who this child might be. They also concentrate on who this virgin might be. The five main theories are as follows:

1. The mother is a royal: maybe even the queen, and so the child is a prince, perhaps even the Crown Prince, Hezekiah.[6]

2. The mother is Isaiah's wife, and so the child is one of Isaiah’s sons (Clements, Isaiah 1-39).

3. The prophecy does not refer to a specific mother but rather to mothers in general giving their children names symbolizing their hope in God (cf. 1 Samuel 4:19-22) (O. Kaiser).

4. More likely: the mother is a member of the royal family whose child's name would symbolize the presence of God with his people foreshadowing the Messiah, Jesus, God incarnate. (J.A. Alexander).

5. Most likely: the mother is simply and straightforwardly the Virgin Mary and the child is Jesus Christ himself (cf. Matthew 1:22-23). (Young, Book of Isaiah.).[7]

This last explanation makes the most sense. Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., notes that:

 “Although some claim that the word translated virgin (Hb. ‘almah) refers generally to a “young woman,” it actually refers specifically to a “maiden”—that is, to a young woman who is unmarried and sexually chaste, and thus has virginity as one of her characteristics (see Gen. 24:16, 43; Ex. 2:8, “girl”). Thus when the Septuagint translators, 200 years before the birth of Christ, rendered ‘almah here with Greek parthenos (a specific term for “virgin”) they rightly perceived the meaning of the Hebrew term; and when Matthew applied this prophecy to the virgin birth of Christ (see Matthew 1:23), it was in accord with this well-established understanding of parthenos (“virgin”) as used in the Septuagint and in other Greek writers.”[8]

To make a long story short: the Bible is right; the gospels are right. Just like the proof that Moses would deliver the people from Egypt was that he would worship the Lord on Mt. Horeb (Sinai) AFTER he had finished what he was supposed to do (Exodus 3:11-12); just like the sign that God was making a covenant with Abraham that his offspring were going to inherit the Promised Land was that Abraham’s descendants would be enslaved for 400 years AFTER Abraham was dead (Genesis 15:13-15); so too the proof here that God will deliver Judah from the Assyrians is that 300+ years AFTER He does this, a king will deliver the Jews and the Gentiles alike (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:26-38, 2:1-40). This king, the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, the Wonderful Counsellor, the Everlasting Father and Mighty God Himself, will be born (Isaiah 9:6,7).

This is the good news because this sign is not simply a sign it is also salvation: salvation of the whole world. Isaiah tells us that “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all’”(Isaiah 7:9). But if we do stand firm in our faith we will experience God’s promised salvation. In Genesis 12:3 God tells us that all the nations of the world will be blessed through Abraham. 2 Samuel 7 records that there will be a king of the royal line who will rule forever. Luke 2 heralds the birth of the Son of God who is the saviour of the whole world of which John 3:16 (cf. Matthew 3:9, Luke 3:8, John 8, Romans 11) tells us that God loved so much that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but will instead be saved forever. Paul tells us in Romans 3:3,4 that God is faithful to all of His promises. God is faithful and He has now delivered us from our enemies. Between the cross and the grave, between the death and the resurrection, Jesus, the Prince of Peace defeated sin and death. God through Jesus has provided for the salvation of the whole world and He desires that not one shall be lost (See Matthew 18:11, Luke 19:10; John 17:12). God has already won the war. All we need to do is stand firm in our faith and we will reap the benefits. And why wouldn’t we stand firm? God has already saved us. Why wouldn’t we say grace in restaurants? God has already saved us. Why wouldn’t we read our Bibles in coffee shops? God has already saved us. Why wouldn’t we pray before we begin a task at work or before we start writing an exam?  God has already saved us. Why wouldn’t we tell people about Jesus? Why wouldn’t we invite them to Church? Why wouldn’t we stand firm in our faith in these ways? As we do, God has already saved us. All we have to do is stand firm on His promises. All we have to do is stand firm in our faith. All we have to do is stand firm. For, Isaiah 7:9b: “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.’” But James 1:12 (CEB), “Those who stand firm during testing are blessed. They are tried and true. They will receive the life God has promised to those who love Him as their reward.”

As Christ has already won the victory, let us experience that victory with Him. As Christ has already won the victory, I urge us all – brothers and sisters – to remain loyal, to fight the good fight; do not give up and so forfeit the crown that Christ has already purchased us at such a great personal expense (See 1 Corinthians 9:25; 2Timothy 2:5; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4; Revelation 2:12, 3:11). Instead let us go from here today renewed in our faith and renewed in our resolve to serve the Lord for always and forever in Jesus’ name. For unto us a son is given, for unto us a child is born so there is no need for anyone to perish. Therefore let us all stand firm in our faith because the Lord promises that indeed if we do stand firm in our faith we will not fall. Those of us who do persevere we will receive the crown of Life.

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com

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[1] Cf. John D.W. Watts, Isaiah 1-33, (WBC24: Waco, Texas: Word Books), 78-79. Edom and Philistia were also involved in harassing Judah (2 Kings 16:6, 2 Chronicles 28:17-18)

[2] Geoffrey W. Grogan, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Isaiah/Exposition of Isaiah/I. Oracles Concerning Judah and Jerusalem (1:1-12:6)/I. The Sign of Shear-Jashub (7:1-9), Book Version: 4.0.2 : It is clear from 2 Kings 15:37 that the alliance of the two northern kings against Judah began before Jotham died. Cf. Christopher R. Seitz, Isaiah 1-39 (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1993), 75-76.

[3] Christopher R. Seitz, Isaiah 1-39 (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1993), 65-67.

[4] John D.W. Watts, Isaiah 1-33, (WBC24: Waco, Texas: Word Books), 79. Aram becomes an Assyrian province in 734 BCE. Israel becomes a province in 721 BCE.

[5] Read the letter on-line at: http://www.sheepspeak.com/Not%20an%20atheistic%20society.htm

[6] J. Lindblom, A Study on the Immanuel Section in Isaiah 7:1-9:6 [Lund: Gleerup, 1958], p. 41

[7] Geoffrey W. Grogan, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Isaiah/Exposition of Isaiah/I. Oracles Concerning Judah and Jerusalem (1:1-12:6)/J. The Sign of Immanuel (7:10-25), Book Version: 4.0.2

[8] Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Note on Isaiah 7:14 in ESV Study Bible. (Crossway Bibles: Wheaton, Illinois: 2007), page 1254. Available on-line: http://www.esvstudybible.org/search?q=Isaiah+7

Matthew 1-2: Joseph the Dreamer II

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 29 December 2013 by Captain Michael Ramsay

In the lead up to Christmas we looked at the genealogy and the lineage of Christ. Today, I want to look one more time at an important person in that list. Joseph the son of Israel is often referred as ‘Joseph the Dreamer’ for the dreams he has about his father, mother, brothers and the dreams he interprets for Pharaoh and his servants. This Sunday we are looking at Joseph, the legal guardian of Jesus. Joseph is an interesting person. Joseph is a righteous man. Joseph is Jesus’ stepfather. And this Joseph is no less a dreamer than was his namesake in the book of Genesis (Another more common OT comparison in these chapters is, of course, that of Jesus to Moses; cf. Josephus Antiquities II, 205-7, 15-16 [ix. 2-3]).[1]

When we are first introduced to Joseph, we understand that he is descended from some pretty famous ancestors who he traces all the way back to Abraham.[2] Matthew Chapter 1 reads:

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

 Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

 and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

 Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

 After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

 Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

 Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

We have studied a number of these people in the months leading up to Christmas and the significance of God preordaining them to be in the lineage and genealogy of the Christ. Now we come to a very interesting verse in the lineage of the Christ. Matthew 1:16, which we just read: “and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.” You will notice that it says that even though Joseph’s genealogy provides the lineage of Jesus, it does not say that Joseph is Jesus’ birth father.[3] It says that he was instead “the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.” To this point in the story we know two things about Joseph:

1)      He is Jesus’ legal father

2)      He is not Jesus’ biological father

Reading the story to this point then raises a couple of questions:

1)      Who is Jesus’ biological father?

2)      Why does Joseph take Mary’s son to raise as his own?

A response to these, Matthew tells us in Chapter 1:18-25:

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Joseph finds out that his fiancée is pregnant but not by him. Last Sunday we spoke to this a little bit.[4] We spoke about how Joseph was a righteous man and that when he found out that his fiancée became pregnant by someone other than himself, knowing that if he wanted he could actually have her stoned to death; but he didn’t. He was a righteous man and he wanted to divorce her quietly.

It was then that Joseph has a dream. And it is in this dream that an angel tells Joseph that he is still to marry his fiancée and the angel also tells Joseph what to name this son. Joseph then wakes from his dream and he does everything just as he was instructed in his dream.

If you were in his place and your girlfriend became pregnant not by yourself and you had decided to break up with her then that night you have a dream about an angel telling you not to break up with her but to go ahead and marry her and you also dream about what to name the child and who the child would become, would you think that was true? What would you do? Joseph believes his dream and Joseph does everything that the angel in his dream tells him to do – including marrying Mary and refraining from having any physical relations with her until her son is born.

Then, Matthew Chapter 2:1-11:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for out of you will come a ruler

who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 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, frankincense and myrrh.”

Joseph is present when these strangers show up with great gifts for the newborn son. This would be quite a sign for anyone and everyone (see Numbers 22:17).[5] It must have been a wonderful confirmation for Joseph that indeed his dream was from God and indeed his obedience to the angel in his dream was obedience to God himself. Joseph must have thought and felt so many things with the birth of his legal son here who was and who is the Son of God, Himself.

And then, Matthew 2:13-14:

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

After time has passed here, Joseph has another dream about an angel. This time he dreams about an angel telling him to leave for a foreign country with his wife and her young son. Joseph, a young dad, then takes his young wife and his young child and goes to a foreign country without any family waiting for him there, without any job waiting for him there, without any support network waiting for him there and he has a young wife and a young child to care for. He takes them away from all the supports that are available for him at home because of a dream he has of an angel again.

He is proved right again by following this dream, just as he was by following the instructions given him through the previous dream. Matthew 2:16-18:

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,

weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children

and refusing to be comforted,

because they are no more.”

And then yet again, after however much time Joseph spends living, working and raising his family in Egypt – they are settled now - Joseph has yet another dream, Matthew 1:19-23:

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Joseph is a righteous man, the Bible tells us. And Joseph the dreamer has had quite a challenging time of his adult life so far. Let’s think about it: His wife has given birth to a child, not his own. He has a dream so he married her. He then dreams again so he takes his wife and the child to a foreign country without any job or any family and he finally gets settled and now he has yet another dream. This dream tells him to walk away from everything that he is working on in Egypt, quit his work, and pack up his wife and child again (and maybe even other children at this point). Joseph does this again. Because of a dream he has, he moves his family back to Judea. Upon returning to Judea, he doesn’t like the political situation and so he moves up north, out in the country. He moves to Galilee, to the town of Nazareth where he proceeds to disappear from our records all together.[6] We never hear of him again. This is all we know of Joseph, the legal guardian, the stepfather of Jesus.

People assume Joseph dies young because Jesus’ mother and brothers are mentioned more than once in the documents that we have but if you search your scriptures, you will notice that Joseph is not. Here is a man who gave up everything that he had worked for on more than one occasion to follow a dream; here is a man who has given up everything in his life more than once to follow God. It was not apparently an easy life he led: repeatedly dropping everything. He travels from Judea to Egypt to Galilee and Nazareth. And then after doing all of this, the presumption is that he dies early. He gives up everything to follow his God-given dreams. He gives up everything to follow God and God uses the obedience of this man to bless the whole world.

He gives up everything to follow the Lord and this is exactly what we too are called to do today. And in so doing Jesus promises, Matthew 19:29-30, that “everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” Joseph gives up his whole life to follow the Lord as God leads him through dreams. Joseph has the choice on more than one occasion to either focus on his own needs and the apparent needs of his family or to follow the Lord’s direction and each time it is recorded, he follows the Lord’s leading. So too do we have this choice today. Jesus says and Matthew records that we can either work to be first in this world or we can give up our whole life to follow Christ and thus be first in the next. May we today follow the example of Joseph. It is my prayer that each of us here will choose God’s eternal life over our own plans for own life. For, as Matthew reminds us, “everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”

We are now invited to stand and sing together "I believe in Jesus" and if this song is true of you today, I invite you that as you leave the sanctuary today, you can write your name on a leaf here that we will add to the ‘Vine of Christ’ that we have been working on. As we each write our names on a leaf and leave it at the mercy seat, it will be a public acknowledgement that indeed we believe in Jesus.

Let us sing.

www.sheepspeak.com

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[1] Cf. D.A. Carson, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Matthew/Exposition of Matthew/I. Prologue: The Origin and Birth of Jesus the Christ (1:1-2:23)/C. The Visit of the Magi (2:1-12), Book Version: 4.0.2

[2] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-38: De Vine Final,' presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, (Sheepspeak.com: Swift Current, SK: 24 November 2013). Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/11/matthew-11-17-luke-323-38-de-vine-final.html for the summary sermon of this series.

[3] Cf. R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1985 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 1), S. 76: This new phraseology makes it clear that Matthew does not regard Jesus as Joseph’s son physically, and vv. 18–25 will explain this at length.

[4] Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Matthew 1:18-2:18: What is your choice?' presented to the Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, (Sheepspeak.com: Swift Current, Sk: 23 December, 2013 and 26 December 2010). Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/12/matthew-118-218-what-is-your-choice.html cf. also Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Luke 1:26-37: Do You Believe?' Presented to the Nipawin Corps 14 December 2008. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/luke-126-37-do-you-believe.html and Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Matthew 1:18-25: Do you believe?' Presented to each Nipawin and Tisdale Corps, 24 December 2007 and the CFOT chapel in Winnipeg, December 2006. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/matthew-118-25-do-you-believe.html

[5] Cf. Daniel J. Harrington, The Gopel of Matthew, (Sagra Pagina: Liturgical Press: Collegeville, Minnesota, 1991), p. 48 re. the prophecy of Balaam as it relates to this episode.

[6] Cf. Daniel J. Harrington, The Gopel of Matthew, (Sagra Pagina: Liturgical Press: Collegeville, Minnesota, 1991), p. 45-46 re. Nazareth. 

2 Kings 22:1-23:30 (2 Chronicles 34-35): Josiah’s Preparation for Israel’s Life after Death

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 10 November 2013 by Captain Michael Ramsay
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 Tomorrow is Remembrance Day. I trust that many of you will be marching in with us at the Comp High School at 10:30am. You are invited also to join us for the 8:30am service at the Cenotaph. The Salvation Army will be leading both services as, of course, we have been providing the chaplaincy for RCL Branch #56 for the previous 5 years.

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 Last year it was bitterly cold outside on Remembrance Day. I remember it quite vividly. A number of us got frostbite on our ears including myself, the mayor, and Maxine. I always looked forward to seeing Maxine at Legion events. The poppy tea was yesterday but, as far as Legion events go, it is the Mothers' Day tea that I'll always remember because every year they had a door prize of some flowers. I think each year I told Maxine that if my daughters won the flowers she would have to come to church in the morning to present them with their prize and, as far as I remember, we won every year; so we knew that Maxine would be in church at least that one Sunday each year. Many of us miss Maxine as she received her 'Promotion to Glory' just a month or so after Remembrance Day last year. I am sure she was met with, "well done my good and faithful servant."

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 Along these lines, in my preparing for both today and tomorrow's ceremonies I ran across some interesting pieces of information about a number of people who lived and died in Canada’s wars - especially the 'Great War', the 'war to end all wars', the 'first world war'.

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 When World War One broke out Canada was a very small and sparsely populated country of just over 7 million people. Most people were farmers or involved in other primary industries. Many young boys headed off the farms here to serve in the war. I also read stories of bankers and teachers and minors and scientists and athletes and very young men from across the country who put their jobs, their careers, their parents, their girl friends, their new wives, their young children, and their whole lives on hold until they returned home from the war - only many never did return home from the war. They were never to be seen again by their wives, their children, their brothers, their sisters, their mothers, their fathers.

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 66 976 Canadians died in World War 1. That was almost 1% (0.92%) of our country's population: meaning that in a city then with a population of 17 000, like Swift Current is now, 170 people would have been killed in the war. If you lived in Canada during the war, you would know more than one person who did not return. I want to share one of the many stories I happened read about people who left their homes here on the Canadian prairies to die in the mud of Passchendaele:

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Stanley Richard Shore (Private, 27th Battalion, CEF) was born in Manitou, Manitoba, on December 16th, 1896. He received his education in the Brandon schools and in the King Edward School, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He was employed by the National Trust Company, Saskatoon, for a short period, but in order to complete his education he resigned and returned to school. In October 1915, at the age of 18, he entered the service of the Bank of British North America in Saskatoon. Previous to his enlisting for overseas service [in the war] he was attached to the 105th Regiment. He enlisted in April, 1916, as a Private in the 183rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry, and headed overseas. On the 183rd Battalion being disbanded in England he proceeded to France with a reinforcement draft for the 27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry. He was killed during the attack on Passchendaele Ridge on November 6th, 1917.[1]

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 He was only 20. He was a banker. He was a prairie boy. He was killed in the mud on Passchendaele Ridge. He is just one of the almost one percent of the population of Canada who never returned from his European adventure.

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 Today on Remembrance Sunday, quite by providence, certainly not through any intent or design on my part, we are looking at a good man, who like Stanley Richard Shore, and like so many other good men throughout history, was killed in battle when he was still young.

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Today, in part, we are going to eulogize King Josiah. Josiah was the last great King of Judah and Israel. He was a good man, who was used by God to do many good things and he really was the last significant ruler of Judah or Israel. Not long after Josiah was killed, his country was wiped off the face of the earth forever. It would never stand as an independent nation again.

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So who is this King Josiah that we have added to our branch of the lineage of Christ that we are growing above the altar in the sanctuary here? Who is this King Josiah whom we are going to commemorate what the Lord has done through him today?

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Josiah had an interesting home life growing up to say the least. When he was born, his grandfather was the King of Judah. His grandfather, King Manasseh, was the longest reigning of all of the kings of Judah. He was popular with many of the people and Manasseh was among the most evil of all of the kings to ever rule Judah (but cf. 2 Chronicles 33:10-13).^[2] 2 Kings 21:9 records that Manasseh even led the Israelites (Judeans) to do more evil than even the people who lived in Canaan before God removed them because they were evil. And now because of the evil in the kingdom of Judah during Manasseh's reign, God decides to remove Israel from this land just like He removed the nations before them (Genesis 15:7-15).

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King Manasseh died when Josiah was about six years old and then Josiah’s dad, Amon, became the king of Judah. Amon - 2 Kings 21:21-22 - did evil just as his father had done and King Amon abandoned the LORD, the God of his ancestors (cf. Chronicles 33:21-25). His servants then, only 2 years into his reign, murdered this evil king. This evil King Amon however was also very popular with the people of Israel/Judah, so they killed those who plotted against him and they placed the young  Josiah on the throne.

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Josiah was only eight years old when he became the last significant king of Judah (ca. 640 BCE). Then in the 18^th year of his reign, when he was 26 years old, he sent a servant to the Temple, to the House of the LORD, to collect some money, to pay for repairs to the building. It was then that the High Priest told Shaphan, Josiah's servant, that he had found the Book of the Law in the House of the LORD.[3] This is interesting because in all of the years of the evil reigns of his father and grandfather - 57 years - plus all of the years of Josiah's reign to date - 75 years altogether - somehow they had lost the Scriptures. Probably for at least a half of a century, I would guess; they didn’t even really know about the Book of the Law anymore let alone the Scriptures contained within them. Israel and Judah had become so evil that they seem to have forgotten the Lord altogether.[4]

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When they find this book, they read it and they then franticly try to figure out what to do with the Word of God. They read it and they realize just how evil their nation has become; they read it and they fear for their lives; they read it and they fear God. The King, 22:18, is penitent; he humbles himself before the LORD; He tears his clothes and he weeps before the LORD. He seeks out any remaining prophets of the LORD to ask what he can do for the LORD.

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As part of Josiah’s coming to faith here, as part of and as a result of his repentance, he is better than any of the kings before or after him (2 Kings 22:25). He reads the Scriptures to the elders of his people. He makes a covenant with the LORD to follow the LORD - 23:3 – “keeping His commandments, His decrees and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. All the people joined in the covenant.”

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Josiah turns his whole life and his whole country over to the Lord: he destroys the altars to and images of the false gods in his country; he deposes the idolatrous priests; he destroys the houses of the male shrine prostitutes; he removes the [war] horses that he, his father and his grandfather, the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun [god] at the entrance to the House of the LORD. He then burns the [war] chariots - his era’s equivalent of the tank. He burns the chariots of the sun with fire. He pulls down the evil temples and he defiles the evil high places. These are totally unparalleled reforms in all the history of Israel and Judah. He destroys the state sanctioned worship of false gods and he re-institutes the state sanctioned celebration of the Passover feast to commemorate the LORD’s saving the first-born sons and delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt. He puts away all the mediums, wizards, teraphim, idols, and all the abominations in Judah and Jerusalem.[5] 2 Kings 22:25 records, “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.” Josiah is quite a king. This is an unparalleled repentance and a great testimony to God, to the LORD.

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But, all that being said, Verse 25 is followed by Verses 26 and 27: “Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn away from the heat of his fierce anger, which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to arouse his anger. So the Lord said, ‘I will remove Judah also from my presence as I removed Israel, and I will reject Jerusalem, the city I chose, and this temple, about which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’” Then, Verses 29 and 30a, “While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to meet him in battle, but Neco faced him and killed him at Megiddo. Josiah’s servants brought his body in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb” (cf. 2 Chronicles 35:20-27).[6] Josiah's life here is over. Josiah’s reign in Judah is over. Two chapters later, the two books of the Kings are over. And two chapters later the two countries of Israel and Judah’s time is over. It is finished.[7]

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Josiah was a great king. Josiah loved God. Josiah served God like no one else in the histories of the countries of Israel and Judah. Josiah started his reign as an eight year-old boy and he finished it as a devout servant of our God. Josiah, like so many of our Canadian soldiers of the 19^th, 20^th, and 21^st Centuries (as before), left his family behind, left his people behind, left his work behind, left those who loved him behind. And Josiah left his reforms behind to march into a battle from which he and his reforms would never return. He marched out into a battle from which his country would never recover. Josiah’s son did evil in the eyes of the LORD. Josiah’s son only reigned 3 months. The very few remaining kings of Judah/Israel were then nothing more than vassals of Egypt and Babylon, until the LORD finally removed them from His land.[8]

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This is a sad story on this Remembrance Sunday. God used Josiah to accomplish so much good in reforming Israel and Judah. Josiah then marched off to a battle from which neither he nor his reforms ever returned. So many good Christians marched out to battles from Canada in the 20^th Century and now the country to which some never returned is no longer devoted to God the way it was when they laid down their lives for God, for King and for country.

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So what can we learn today from Josiah - the late great king of a long gone kingdom who marched out to war and never returned? So what can we learn from Josiah - the late great king of a long gone kingdom who marched out to a war from which his country never returned? I think what we can learn is this: Josiah experienced God’s blessing in the midst of the death throws of his nation and so can we experience God’s blessing in the midst of whatever we are experiencing.[9] And even more: Israel and Judah were evil for a long time before God wiped them off the face of the earth. Before the LORD scattered them away from God’s land forever, God used Josiah to bring God’s people back to the LORD. If God had not instituted Josiah’s reforms, no one today may have ever heard of the LORD at all. Remember that Israel/Judah had forgotten the LORD. But the LORD didn’t forget them; He reminds them who He is just when they need Him the most. Just before the people are deported to many parts of the world, they return to God and so God is with them in their deportations and God is with them in their suffering and God is with them in their captivity and God is with them in their slavery. Throughout all of their hardships for centuries to come God is right there with them. And through this they begin to look forward to Jesus. They begin to look hopefully, longingly and expectantly to the coming of Jesus, who is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings; He is the wonderful counsellor, mighty God, everlasting father and prince of peace whose government will never stop ruling and being peaceful (Isaiah 9:6).

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And this is the same for us. Just as we have been looking at Ruth and Naomi the previous few weeks in Bible study, so it is with the people after Josiah and so it is with us today. No matter what evil, no matter what hardships, no matter what trials, no matter what tribulations we suffer, Christ is right there with us.  He is our comfort and our strength. And one day, one day He is coming back and then every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and then there will be no more tears and there will be no more suffering forever more in His Kingdom to come.

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Many of us here have already promised God that we will serve Him forever but if there are any here today who have not yet bowed to Jesus as King and made Him Lord of our life, I invite us to do this today for God promises that no matter what is happening in our lives today and no matter what will happen in our lives tomorrow, God will never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus loves us.

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Let us pray.
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www.sheepspeak.com

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[1] Norm Christie, For King and Empire: The Canadians at Passchendaele October to November 1917 (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: CEF Books, 1999), 36.

^[2]Cf. Donald J. Wiseman, 1 and 2 Kings: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1993 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 9), S. 311 for an interesting discussion of this in light of 2 Chronicles 33.

[3] Cf. Nadav Na'aman, 'The discovered book and the legitimation of Josiah's reform,' JBL, no. 1 (2011): 47-62 for a good discussion around content and dating of ‘the Book of the Law’.

[4] Cf. Bruce C. Birch, Walter Brueggemann, Terence E. Fretheim, Daniel L. Peterson, A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2005) 322-323

[5] Cf. Jonathan Ben-Dov,' Writing as Oracle and as law: new contexts for the book-find of King Josiah.,' JBL 127, no. 2 (2008): 223-239 esp. p. 238 for an historical discussion of his reforms.

[6] Cf. 2 Chronicles 35:20-27 for a more detailed account of Josiah’s death in battle.

[7] Choon-Leon Seow, The First and Second Book of Kings, in NIB 9, ed. Leander E. Keck, et. al. (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1999): 287 points out that salvation is not meted out on a basis of works.

[8] Patrick J. Wilson, 'Between Text and Sermon: 2 Kings 22:1-23:3,' Interpretation 54, no. 4 (2000): 415, “Beyond rewards and punishments God calls us to a particular way of life. Josiah understands this even as he stands by the pillar to read the book of the covenant, which consigns his kingdom as condemned property. But for those who hear, it is an invitation to life with God.”

[9] Patrick J. Wilson, 'Between Text and Sermon: 2 Kings 22:1-23:3,' Interpretation 54, no. 4 (2000): 415