Strength in Weakness

Dear friends in Christ, fellow saints washed clean in the blood of our risen Savior:

“Believe in yourself.” “Find your inner strength.” “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.” “God helps those who help themselves.” “Dream big and you will achieve it.” “Reach for the stars.”

You've heard those thoughts many times over. They pulsate through commencement addresses, self-help books, and motivational speakers. They're the theme for movies, stories, and talk shows. But how contrary they are to what today's text says!

Now, I realize that the words of those opening statements can be maneuvered to fit in line with the Bible, if you take them the right way. In the right context under the proper circumstances one of those pithy statements might be beneficial. But the vast majority of times when they are used, they point us away from Christ's power and direct us to our own strength. That is diametrically opposed to everything in the Scriptures.

So today, rather than relishing in our strengths, let us join the Apostle Paul and boast of our weaknesses. For Christ's power dwells on the weak. That's the theme for you to remember today. Christ's power dwells on the weak. And when we take that to heart, our prayers change. We pray: Lord Jesus, use my weakness for your sake. That's part one. And we pray: Lord Jesus, your grace never falls short. That's part two.

A. Lord Jesus, use my weakness for your sake

1. What does Paul mean by weaknesses?

What do we usually pray when we think about weakness? Don't we ask God to take it away? We pray for strength instead, for a stronger faith, for power to make it through the day, for the strength resist sin, stand firm, and endure. And we certainly have example and direction of Scripture to pray such prayers. But should we also pray: “Lord Jesus, use my weakness for your sake”?

Look at what the Apostle says, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses . . . I delight in weaknesses” (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10 NIV). He sees these weaknesses as a blessing from God. Shouldn't we,too, pray for such blessings?

But what does Paul mean by weaknesses? Here we need to listen carefully to what the Scriptures say in context and not to the imaginations of our spiritual laziness. Paul does not boast or delight in weakness of faith or weakness of morals or weakness in serving God and our neighbor. He's not praising the person who says, “Why should I try to strengthen my faith? The Bible is so hard to understand. Life's too busy for Bible classes. Isn't showing up for church once in a while good enough? Why should I bother strengthening my faith at home using God's Word. Doesn't Paul boast about weakness?” Such a faith is wasting away into unbelief, if it hasn't died already. Nor is Paul praising the man who says, “I'm such a weak Christian. I can't help but give in to my sinful desires. Why bother fighting them? I might as well give in sooner rather than later. Doesn't my weakness make God's grace look even better by forgiving someone who sins as easily as I do?” That's abusing God's forgiveness as a license for sin. Nor is Paul praising the attitude that says, “I don't need to do my best in serving God and my neighbor because weakness is good.” That attitude flows from laziness, not from faith.

So what does Paul mean by weaknesses? Look at what he writes in verse 10: “For Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses . . .” And now he gives examples of what he means by weaknesses: “. . . in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties” (2 Corinthians 12:10 NIV). Ah, do you see? It's what the world labels as weakness. It includes what we suffer for Christ's sake, such as the insults, ridicule, persecution that come as we follow Jesus and boldly live for him. It also includes those things like hardships, neediness, difficulties that from a human perspective seem to get in the way of our serving Jesus and our neighbor. Whatever Paul's thorn in the flesh was, he felt it hindered his ability to serve, so he pleaded with God to take it away. But God knew better. What appears weak to the world, what we even may consider a handicap in service, God uses to accentuate his power in Christ. Lord Jesus, use my weakness for your sake. For your power dwells on the weak.

We gain a clearer understanding of weakness from the larger context of 2 Corinthians 11 and 12 as well. After Paul left Corinth, so-called “super-apostles” infiltrated the congregation masquerading as apostles of Christ. They tauted their strong credentials, their eloquence, their success, their high price. But they did not preach the same Jesus as Paul did. They did not preach Christ crucified for sinners. They had a different spirit, a different gospel, which was really no gospel at all.

So to counter their boasting about their strength, Paul does some boasting of his own. He boasts of his weakness as he writes in chapter 11: “I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” (2 Corinthians 11:26-30 NIV). For Paul well knows, that Christ's power dwells on the weak. Lord Jesus use my weakness for your sake.

2. How does this understanding of weakness affect the way we pray?

So pray, dear Christian, pray for Jesus to use your weaknesses -- not the kind of weakness that stifles faith or promotes sin and spiritual laziness. Rather pray for the weaknesses through which God's power displays its perfect completeness. For you see, at times when we pray for strength, whether for a stronger faith, or power to make through the day, or strength to resist temptation, stand firm, and endure -- when we pray for strength a part of us, a devious part of us, is thinking: “Yes, Lord give me strength so that I can depend on the power of my faith and the strength of my character, so that I can live more independently and not need you so much.” How damning those thoughts are! So pray, dear Christian, pray for Jesus to use your weakness to keep you close to him, dependent on him, trusting only in him and his grace and power. Pray for the weaknesses that display for you the perfect completeness of his power and the full sufficiency of his grace. For Christ's power dwells on the weak.

B. Lord Jesus, your grace never falls short

1. How was God's grace at work through Paul's thorn in the flesh?

And that brings us to the second part. Even as we pray: Lord Jesus, use my weakness for your sake, we also prayer: Lord Jesus, your grace never falls short. For it is because of his grace that his power dwells on the weak.

First let's see God's grace at work in the weakness that Paul refers to as a thorn in his flesh. That name, “thorn in the flesh,” seems to indicate this weakness affected his physical condition. He also calls it “a messenger of Satan, to torment me” (2 Corinthians 12:7), just as Satan tormented Job with earthly loss and bodily affliction. Like a boxer mercilessly beating his opponent bloody, Satan pommels the Apostle Paul with this thorn in the flesh.

Whatever this thorn was, Paul see it as a hindrance in serving his Savior. He pleads with God in prayer for it to go away. He pleads again, and a third time. God answer him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV). God's grace did not fall short.

But how could a gracious, merciful God let let his Apostle continue to suffer so? Why didn't he take it away? Paul explains, “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations” (2 Corinthian 12:7 NIV). God had blessed Paul by showing him paradise in addition to other revelations. As a sinner, like you and me, Paul could have gotten a big head. He could've begun relying on his experience and insight gained from these revelations rather than relying on Jesus alone. Instead of looking to God's power, he could've look to his own strength. So what should a gracious God do? Take the thorn from Paul and so let him damage his faith or even lose it? Or keep the thorn with Paul and so keep Paul close to his Savior, dependent on Christ's power? It's not a hard question, is it? God's grace does not fall short.

2. Why do we need our thorns?

But it's a lot harder to apply to ourselves when we face suffering, hardship, and weakness. “God do I really need this to keep me humble? Wouldn't I be okay without it?” But that very thinking shows how much we need our thorns. We so easily imagine ourselves stronger. But that self-delusion shows just how necessary it is for God's grace not to take our thorns away. “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12 NIV), the Apostle writes in his first letter to the Corinthian Christians. Our weaknesses and thorns bring home to you and me how much we need our God. If you think Satan is hitting you hard now because of a thorn, he'd beat you and me into a bloody pulp if we tried to stand against him in our own strength. Believe, dear friend, believe that God's grace is sufficient. His grace does not fall short.

Consider an article I read some time ago. The author, a pastor, described how well his ministry had been going. He was doing so many things to work with the youth, to bring in new members, to serve God's people. The Lord had blessed it with much fruit. But then he put out his back. For several weeks he had to lie flat on his back, doing nothing. At first he prayed like this, “Lord, how could you let this happen. Look at all that I was doing. So much is going on. How is it going to continue? I can't do anything now to serve you.” But after time and reflection on his back, he began to see that the ministry was not about what he could do, but about God's grace and power. God had to teach him that by knocking him flat on his back. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV). So also, dear friend, your life is not about what you can do, but about God's grace and power. Sometimes he has to knock us out flat on our back so that we look up to him. But be assured: his grace will never fall short. For Christ's power dwells on the weak.

3. How is God's grace at work through our weakness for those around us?

And often, God's grace works through our weakness and thorns not only for us but also more so for those around us. How often don't our strengths distract people from God's power and grace? Only in our weaknesses does the perfect completeness of God's power show. Christ's power dwells on the weak.

Consider these two examples:

A member wants to help by going door-to-door inviting the neighborhood to a special worship service. He's quite nervous and apprehensive. The group goes out in pairs of twos. He goes with the pastor. At every house the pastor does the talking. He watches, learning. Finally at the last house, the pastor suggests he try it by himself. He goes to the door, sweeting and nervous. When the persons answers the door, he tries to talk but no words come out. He stutters two or three times trying to remember the words to say. Finally, he just says, “Here,” and hands over the brochure, quickly leaving. Of the hundreds of homes that were visited, only that person showed up the next week. When asked why, he explained, “I could obviously see that you were nervous and afraid, and yet this was so important you invited me any way. I wanted to know the power behind that.” God's power and grace shines out through our weakness.

Or consider the young lady suffering with terminal cancer. It's a painful and hopeless disease. But instead of complaints and self-pity, she openly talked about her hope of eternal life in Jesus, about the inheritance in heaven Jesus won for her by dying on the cross, about Jesus conquering death by rising from the dead. Her faith shined through in the kindness she showed to others despite her suffering. How her testimony reached people that would have never entered a church! How carefully people listened in ways they seldom do to a sermon! They saw that this was real for her. She was facing immanent death, yet had hope in Jesus. God's power and grace shines out through our weakness. For Christ's power dwells on the weak.

So dear friends, don't look to your own strength, no matter how often the world tries to sell you that line. Look only to God's grace and power in Christ. For you see, through the utter weakness of the God-forsaken cross Christ Jesus worked out his mighty act of salvation for you. Yes! Through the weakness of the cross he saved you, dear friend. What grace! That grace will never fail you, no matter how weak or frail or despised your earthly life seems. For the weaker we appear to the world, the more clearly God's power shows how great his grace in Christ is. For Christ's power dwells on the weak. Amen.

The peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and mind sin Christ Jesus. Amen.

Let The Lord Be Your Defense

Psalm 94:22

But the LORD is my defence; and my God [is] the rock of my refuge.

Imagine being a poor widow, a stranger in the land and holding one of the lowliest jobs in society. That was Ruth’s situation, so it would have been easy for her to feel vulnerable and defenseless. But because she trusted the Lord (Ruth 1:16), He placed her under Boaz’s protection.

Boaz, the owner of the field she worked in, commanded his young men saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.” (Ruth 2:15) What he was saying to his men was this: “She might be a gleaner, but because I care for her, treat her with respect and make sure she is not put to shame.”

Boaz is a picture of our Lord Jesus. If you are feeling vulnerable and defenseless right now, imagine Jesus commanding His angels, “Watch over this one who belongs to Me. Make sure he is treated with respect and not put to shame because he is someone I love and someone whom I died for.”

God’s Word tells us that if God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) No one who has set himself against us can prevail because when God is for us, His protection is upon us. That is why I have never answered any of the poison email messages which I have received in the course of my ministry.

My attitude is this: Jesus is my defense. If He does not defend me, it means that there are things in my life that are not to be defended, and I would be glad to find out about them now rather than later. On the other hand, because I take the Lord as my defense, and He defends me, what can those who are against me do to me?

When you defend yourself, you have only your two hands and your own human resources. But when you let Jesus take up your defense, He defends you with His nail-pierced hands and His legions of angels! The results will be amazing.

Beloved, the Lord is your defense and refuge. Trust Him to defend and protect you!

Lift Songs Of Praise To The Lord

Ephesians 5:17 (King James Version)Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is

God wants us to walk as wise men and women, and not as fools. (Ephesians 5:15) Now, He will not tell us to walk in wisdom without showing us how. That is why His Word goes on to say, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

So what is the will of God? The next two verses tell us how to identify it: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord”. (Ephesians 5:18–19)

As you allow yourself to be filled with the Spirit by lifting songs of praise to the Lord, singing or speaking (God knows some of us can’t sing!) psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and making melody in your heart to the Lord, God promises that you will know what His will is for your situation. You will then have the wisdom to decide wisely what to do next.

I have found this to be true in my own life. Whenever I face a difficult situation, the more I think about it, the more confused I get. The more I try my best to come up with a smart solution, the further the answer seems to get from me. But when I turn away from my problem and turn to God, singing in the Spirit and praising Him, I get a clearer perspective of the problem when I come back to it later. I also find an inner prompting to make certain decisions which in the end, turn out to be better than anything I could have come up with on my own.

So my friend, lift up songs of praise to the Lord, whether times are good or bad. For when you fill your mouth with praises to God, He will lead you and guide you in all the affairs of your life. Even if you are stuck with a problem, He will show you the way to go or make a way out for you. Either way, you will get the wisdom and help that you need!

Wonderful Counselor

"The Wonderful Counselor"
Isaiah 9:6
One of the tasks that confront every parent is the job of coming up with a name for their new baby. I remember that struggle. Some names are immediately dismissed because they don’t sound right. Some names are dismissed because you associate them with certain people who are weird, people you don’t like, or because the names have certain stereotypes that go with them. Finding the right name is something most parents agonize over.

As much as we care about names, the people of the Bible cared even more. Names were most often picked because of the meaning of the name. We read several places where people had their names changed as a result of their new relationship with God (Abram became Abraham; Jacob became Israel, Simon became Peter, and Saul became Paul). Other people were given names that were to represent various truths (consider the zany names of the children of Hosea, or the symbolic names of the children of Joseph). So when we read names in the Bible have not been selected simply because they “sound cool”.

In the Bible according to Naves Topical Bible there are more than 250 different names for Jesus! You’ll be glad to know that we are not going to look at all of them! But we are going to look at a few of them. We are going to spend the four weeks of Advent reflecting on the four (some would say five) names of Jesus given in Isaiah 9:6. We are going to look at these names like a person might look at a diamond, turning it to try to better grasp the richness of beauty.
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 Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.

There is some debate on this first name. In the King James Version Wonderful and Counselor are two separate names. Some of us are used to hearing them that way from the song, “For Unto Us a Child is Born” from Handel’s Messiah (based on the King James Version). But in contemporary versions of the Bible they are listed as one name. Why? The answer isn’t very complicated. The thought is that Isaiah was being uniform in his structure. Each of the other three names consisted of two words so it is believed that Isaiah meant the first to be two words. Either way, this is quite a title.

The word used for wonderful is the same word used in Judges 13:18 “He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.” The words “beyond understanding” is from the same word as the word translated “wonderful” in Isaiah. In other words, Jesus would be a Counselor that was greater than we could begin to comprehend.

But who cares? Why do we need a Counselor? Let me suggest three reasons why the world (and we) needed a “Wonderful Counselor”:
• The world is often a confusing and overwhelming place. We need someone to help us get through the fog.
• We have a sin problem that we cannot handle by ourselves. We may try to be good but we fail. We need someone who can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We need someone who can lead us to salvation and new life.
• We yearn for a relationship with God. Some people don’t realize it but they are searching for meaning and purpose in their life. They are seeking the Almighty. We need someone who can lead us to Him.

With these things in mind I want to address an important question. Why is Jesus a ‘Wonderful Counselor”? Let me give you a few reasons.

ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS

The first characteristic of a good Counselor is someone who is able to rightly identify the problem in the one they are counseling. We have all had experience with people who tried to counsel us but didn’t have any idea what we were going through,
• The single person counseling on marriage
• The Childless couple counseling their friends on parenting
• The person who doesn’t understand depression who tells a depressed person to “just straighten up”
• The person who has never experienced loss who tells a grieving person to “get over it.”
• A person who has never struggled in life trying to counsel someone who has struggled all his/her life.

When you are on the receiving end of counsel from one of these counselors we become exasperated and frustrated because it is obvious that the person doesn’t understand. Their information is coming from books. It’s plastic and inappropriate. These are not wise counselors.

It is tempting to think that Jesus might fit into this category. He wasn’t married, He was God’s Son, He had never sinned. But Jesus does understand. This is what makes Christ so special. Listen to the Bible’s testimony,

Hebrews 2:17-18
For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

Do you understand that this is what Christmas is about? God becomes man to face what we face, to walk in our shoes. He knew what it was like to suffer. He knew temptation. He understood the desire to strike back, to give up, to despair. The only difference between our experience and the experience of Jesus is that He got through the tempting times without giving in. He was without sin but that doesn’t mean He was without struggle.

Isaiah 53:3
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Jesus wasn’t born in a temple. He wasn’t born as royalty. He was considered the illegitimate son of a carpenter and his teenage bride. In Matthew we read, “Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:19-20) Jesus knew what it was like to face rejection and ridicule. He knew what it was like to be poor.

John 2:25
He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.

Jesus understood (and understands) the hurts, the needs, and the rebellion of men. The Lord understands our tears. Take your best friend, the person who listens when no one else will, the person who understands your deepest need, the person who will not jump on you when you make a mistake but will help you get back up . . . . Jesus is like that, only extraordinarily better.

APPROPRIATE PRESCRIPTION

A good counselor is not just sympathetic. You can hurt with others and still not be able to help them. A good counselor must know how to help. They must know the appropriate prescription for the problem.

Don’t you love it when you tell someone that you are feeling anxious and they say, “Well, don’t think about it” or “Don’t worry about it.” Don’t you want to say, “Wow, what extraordinarily empty advice that is. You make it sound like I want to be anxious.”

There are examples of a number of poor counselors in the Bible. In the Garden of Eden Satan acted as a Counselor and told Eve to eat what God had forbidden. He counseled Jesus to make stones in to bread and to test God’s love. The wife of Job told him to “Curse God and die!” Job’s friends told him to repent because he must have done something wrong if bad things were happening to him. All were foolish counselors giving bad advice.

We also see several examples of good counsel. Jethro advised Moses to delegate authority. The prophets were constantly advising the Kings to “trust God”. And then there is this great story about Solomon,

1 Kings 3:16-27
Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. One of them said, “My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.
“During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.”

The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.” But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.“And so they argued before the king.
The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’”
Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king.
He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”
Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”

This is wise counsel. Solomon read the situation correctly and found a way to bring the best resolution.

Jesus is the wisest Counselor because His wisdom if from the throne room of Heaven.

He never sought the counsel of man, and He never asked for the advice of man. “For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?” (Rom. 11:34). God has no counsellor. The Lord Jesus Christ never called His disciples together and said, “Now, fellows, what do you think I ought to do?” You don’t read anything like that in Scripture. The Lord called them together and said, “This is what I am going to do, because this is My Father’s will.” And Christ has been made unto us wisdom (see 1 Cor. 1:30). Most of us are not very smart. We must go to Him for help.[1]

Our Lord does several things when we turn to Him. First, He tells us the truth. He tells us what is really wrong with our lives. He points out that we are rebelling against God. We are like sheep who have gone astray. He tells us that we need to repent of our sin.

He is like a Doctor who tells someone suffering from emphysema that they need to stop smoking cigarettes and stop hanging around with people who smoke. Understanding what is causing the problem is essential before you can solve the problem.

Second, Jesus tells us to trust what He has done for us. In Matthew 20:28 we read,
the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus understood that we could not save ourselves. Something needed to be done for us. Jesus didn’t just tell us that we needed help. He provided the help we need.

Did you see the story on television recently about the young girl who received two organ transplants at once? She received a liver and a kidney. Her father and her Grandmother both willingly provided for this girl they loved. Without their provision, without their sacrifice, this girl was going to die. All the good intentions in the world could not change the disease that was inside of her.

It is somewhat like that for us. We can want to be forgiven but we can’t do anything about defeating the disease of sin that stalks us and enslaves us. Jesus provided what we could not provide for ourselves. He gave His life as payment for our sin. The prescription of our wonderful counselor is “Trust me and take what I have provided.”

Third, our Counselor gives us a prescription for life that will help us continue to live a spiritually healthy life. This prescription is found in the Bible. In John 14:21,23-24 Jesus said,
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”. . . “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

People who have had heart surgery are given a prescription. They are told to walk regularly, to watch their diet, to take their medicine and to get their regular check-ups. If you do those things, you will get better and be able to enjoy your life. But if you ignore those prescriptions you will not regain your strength or vitality and will probably die much sooner.

Our Lord has given us His prescription for joyful living. He told us to resist the morality and advice of the world and to follow God’s directions. Practically, that means
• We are to trust Him rather than trusting ourselves
• We are to love rather than take advantage of one another
• We are to forgive rather than be bitter
• We are to be holy rather than profane
• We are to store up treasures in Heaven rather than on earth
• We are to be generous rather than selfish
• We are to seek to serve rather than be served

The counsel of Jesus is superb. He understands our situation and has addressed with love and wisdom. However, most people don’t know this because they haven’t given His counsel a chance.

APPRECIABLE RESULTS

The best test of a good counselor is whether the people who go to that counselor are helped. And if you know anything about the Bible you know that Jesus was the most effective counselor that ever lived. Consider,
• Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2) who was delivered from seven demons
• The Gedarenes Demoniacs (Matthew 8:28ff) who were so violent everyone was scared of them Jesus delivered them and they were made normal.
• The Samaritan woman (John 4) who had been married and divorced five times and was currently living with a man – Jesus turned her into a Missionary
• The woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8) was saved from death and sent on her way transformed.
• Zacchaeus was a despised tax-collector (Luke 19) and after meeting with Jesus vowed to repay anyone he cheated with interest
• The fisherman were turned into missionaries
• The religious leader, Nicodemus became a Christian even though it was very unpopular to do so.

And it is not just those who were in the Bible. Jesus is still changing lives. Consider

• St. Augustine was a womanizing man who ran with the wild crowd before becoming one of the greatest leaders of the church/
• John Newton was a drunken slave trader before he wrote “Amazing Grace”
• Johnny Cash was a hard living Country Singer before coming to Christ
• Chuck Colson was a convicted Watergate Conspirator before he met Christ. The Lord led him to begin Prison Fellowship and he has become one of the prophetic voices of our time.
• Alice Cooper was a wild and drug crazed rock singer before coming to Christ where he sits under the teaching of RC Sproul and others.
• George W. Bush was known for his parties before He met Christ

And if you look around there are many other names we could add to the list. Some of you have stories that would surprise the people sitting around you. Jesus Christ has made an impact on millions of lives over the years. For some, the progress has been slow and steady. For others it was a dramatic turnaround. But anyone who has come to the Savior willing to submit to His leadership in their life has found Him to be sufficient for their needs.

CONCLUSIONS

What I hope you see is that when Christ came into the world as a baby in Bethlehem, it was not some historical event that is irrelevant to you and me. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem the Wonderful Counselor was born. He is one we have been looking for all our lives.
• He is the one who understands when no one else does
• He is the one who stands by us when everyone else turns away
• He is the one who really can help us confront the past and begin again
• He is the one who can help us find the God we knew was present but couldn’t reach.

But let me remind you that even the Wonderful Counselor cannot help you unless you are willing to be helped. Is it possible that Jesus is the one you have been looking for all your life? Maybe it is time to stop running faster and instead stop and listen to the Wonderful Counselor. Maybe it is time to stop hiding from the things that haunt your life. Why not take your hurts, fears, and failures and bring them to Jesus?

You don’t have to hide the truth about yourself. He already knows what you’re like. And He loves you anyway.

When Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem it was God’s way of sending us the help we needed. It was God, getting off the throne of Heaven to become a baby, so that He might come into our world, take our hand, and lead us home.