Episode 1381: Our Just Peace

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Thanks for joining me on episode 1381 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:00:07] Kyle Sulivan: I'm Kyle Sullivan. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, talent and treasures to live out your calling. Having the ability to find and live your championship run is key.

[00:00:23] And one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this, the Inspired Stewardship Podcast with my friend, Scott Maderer.

[00:00:40] Scott Maderer: He's calling us to move beyond individualism. Thinking that comfort there that is proclaimed is not your comfort or my comfort. It's our comfort it. It's asking us to move and think beyond the i, into the we from the me to the us. [00:01:00] Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:01:05] If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures for your true calling. In the Inspired Stewardship Podcast, you will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others, and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.

[00:01:33] In today's Spiritual Foundation episode, I talk about Isaiah chapter 40 verses 1 through 11 and Mark chapter 1 verses 1 through 8. I share how Advent is a time to refocus on community instead of consumerism. I also share how this is a chance to refocus from me or you to us and we. Isaiah 40, 1 11 says, Comfort, O comfort, my people, says [00:02:00] your God.

[00:02:00] Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. A voice cries out, In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up and every mountain and hill be made low.

[00:02:21] The uneven ground shall become level and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. A voice says, cry out. And I said, what shall I cry? All people are grass. Their constancy is like the flowers of the field.

[00:02:40] The grass withers, the flowers fades. When the breath of the Lord blows upon it, surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God will stand forever. Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings. Lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, [00:03:00] herald of good tidings.

[00:03:01] Lift it up. Do not fear. Say to the cities of Judea, here is your God. See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him. His reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.

[00:03:25] Mark, chapter 1, verses 1 through 8 says, The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in the prophet Isaiah. See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying out in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight.

[00:03:43] John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, Proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside, And all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, And were baptized by him in the river Jordan, Confessing their sins. Now John was [00:04:00] clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

[00:04:05] He proclaimed, the one who is more powerful than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Yep, it's still Advent. And we probably know that. Last week we talked a little bit about how the season sneaks up on you, but in a way that's not true, is it?

[00:04:32] I know back in the day it might be easy to have Christmas time and Advent time sneak up on you, but now it, it doesn't. Not because we're in better control of time or calendars or pay more attention to events that are coming around the corner. Not because we keep better track of where we are and what's going on around us.

[00:04:51] Not because we keep our head up and our eyes focused, not because we're leaning into that time of Advent that is promised by God. [00:05:00] No, it's not a surprise because if you're like anyone else, you've been having Christmas messages bombard you in marketing at least since Thanksgiving time, often starting even before Halloween.

[00:05:16] They tell us it's the season, Christmas as it's meant to be, all the things that we're going to get. Talking about Thanksgiving instead of Thanksgiving nowadays. We're talking about how Santa delivers gifts in a imported sports car. This is the time that while you're out shopping, you're encouraged to go ahead and just get a gift for yourself as well.

[00:05:44] The idea a lot of times is... One where there's almost this underlying message that it's not American. It's not good if we don't spend a lot of money. If we don't participate in consumerism, [00:06:00] there's something wrong with us. The best way out of the feeling, the down feeling maybe that you get during this time of year is retail therapy, right?

[00:06:11] Get more stuff. More stuff will make you feel It'll make you feel full. It'll get us away from the emptiness, from what our hearts really long for, from what is going wrong with us as individuals, as a nation, as a family, whatever it is, let's splurge on our way to peace. And don't get me wrong. I think all of us like stuff at some level and stuff is something that we all.

[00:06:42] Enjoy it. It makes us feel loved. It makes us feel cared for, but until that comfy chair and until that new TV makes us feel love and acceptance, until our gizmos and our gadgets. can actually [00:07:00] help us feel those moments of loneliness and hold us until our souls are filled, until that brokenness we know surrounds us as a people begins to overwhelm our consumerism and our contentment.

[00:07:18] Maybe Christmas and Advent should mean a little bit more. That maybe we need to look for chances for love to not just be embodied by stuff. But to be incarnated, be made flesh. We need real flesh and blood arms to gather us up. We long to be gathered, to be loved, to know justice, to know peace. Even in a way that we feel deeply when we don't feel like we're feeling that way.

[00:07:53] Even when we tell everyone we're doing just fine, that we can get along by ourselves. It's all good. [00:08:00] I'll take care of it myself. Even then, we really have that deep need for love and caring. Isaiah, Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Seems like there's a meeting going on in the kingdom. A meeting where Isaiah is saying that God has the floor and he's saying, Let's send out the latest and greatest idea.

[00:08:29] Let's send out one. who can come out and recognize that need that everyone has that can give them comfort, but comfort, not judgment, not sending the wrong people to burn and fry, not kicking someone out of the kingdom and keeping only those in that believe like we believe and [00:09:00] look like we look.

[00:09:03] No, God goes on and says, speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that she has served her term. Her penalty is paid. See, in Isaiah chapter 1 through 39, it's focused on the faithfulness of the people of God. And there's a lot in that section about judgment. The people were complacent, they were selfish, they were self centered.

[00:09:32] Might sound familiar. They looked for solace in things and not God, who was present in their midst. Might sound familiar. And Isaiah preaches and preaches and preaches and it doesn't seem to amount to much. Until eventually they are overrun by Babylon, by Assyria. They're conquered. They're [00:10:00] exiled.

[00:10:01] They're broken. And again, they're beaten. And now in chapter 40, now they're looking for arms to gather them up and give them comfort

[00:10:17] in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness, what used to be a garden, but find that moment and make straight the path for God not because God doesn't know where he's going, but because God wants us to ask for that visit again. God isn't opening doors that we've barricaded. He's given us free will.

[00:10:45] He's given us the chance to invite him in, but we have to make that invitation. And in that moment, and that moment, maybe that word comes down, the angels [00:11:00] come out, the chorus echoes. You.

[00:11:06] And what John is saying in this chapter of Mark and the gospel, he includes words about preparing, but maybe it seems like to you he skips the comfort bit. John isn't about comfort, or at least not comfort like we generally think of it. We think of comfort as taking it easy, letting go, laying back, but that's not what John is saying.

[00:11:32] John is saying let's stir things up. Let's work hard, not take it easy. Let's not soothe troubled waters, but let's turn things upside down. John is comfort he's confident and he's sharing that the one who's coming will offer peace, a peace that transforms, that equips, that unites, a just peace that lifts up those who have been pressed down, gathers those [00:12:00] who have been ignored, strengthens those who have been made weak.

[00:12:05] He's calling us to move beyond individualist thinking. That comfort there that is proclaimed is not your comfort or my comfort. It's our comfort. our comfort. It's asking us to move and think beyond the I into the we from the me to the us. That's the invitation of Advent to find our comfort together in God's love and in community.

[00:12:36] Thanks for listening.

[00:12:39] Thanks

[00:12:39] Scott Maderer: so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. [00:13:00] If you enjoyed this episode, do me a favor, go over to facebook.

[00:13:04] com slash inspired stewardship and like our Facebook page and mark it. that you'd like to get notifications from us so that we can connect with you on Facebook and make sure that we're serving you to the best of our abilities with time and tips there. Until next time, invest your time, your talent, and your treasures.

[00:13:31] Develop your influence and impact the world.

[00:13:42] Thanks for joining me on episode 1381 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:13:49] Kyle Sulivan: I'm Kyle Sullivan. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, talent and treasures to live [00:14:00] out your calling. Having the ability to find and live your championship run is key.

[00:14:05] And one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this, the Inspired Stewardship Podcast with my friend, Scott

[00:14:14] Maderer

[00:14:22] Scott Maderer: He's calling us to move beyond individualism. Thinking that comfort there that is proclaimed is not your comfort or my comfort. It's our comfort it. It's asking us to move and think beyond the i, into the we from the me to the us. Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:14:48] If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures for your true calling. In the Inspired Stewardship Podcast, [00:15:00] you will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others, and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.

[00:15:15] In today's Spiritual Foundation episode, I talk about Isaiah chapter 40 verses 1 through 11 and Mark chapter 1 verses 1 through 8. I share how Advent is a time to refocus on community instead of consumerism. I also share how this is a chance to refocus from me or you to us and we. Isaiah 40, 1 11 says, Comfort, O comfort, my people, says your God.

[00:15:43] Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. A voice cries out, In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. [00:16:00] Every valley shall be lifted up and every mountain and hill be made low.

[00:16:03] The uneven ground shall become level and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. A voice says, cry out. And I said, what shall I cry? All people are grass. Their constancy is like the flowers of the field.

[00:16:23] The grass withers, the flowers fades. When the breath of the Lord blows upon it, surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God will stand forever. Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings. Lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings.

[00:16:44] Lift it up. Do not fear. Say to the cities of Judea, here is your God. See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him. His reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock [00:17:00] like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.

[00:17:07] Mark, chapter 1, verses 1 through 8 says, The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in the prophet Isaiah. See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying out in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight.

[00:17:26] John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, Proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside, And all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, And were baptized by him in the river Jordan, Confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

[00:17:47] He proclaimed, the one who is more powerful than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you [00:18:00] with the Holy Spirit. Yep, it's still Advent. And we probably know that. Last week we talked a little bit about how the season sneaks up on you, but in a way that's not true, is it?

[00:18:14] I know back in the day it might be easy to have Christmas time and Advent time sneak up on you, but now it, it doesn't. Not because we're in better control of time or calendars or pay more attention to events that are coming around the corner. Not because we keep better track of where we are and what's going on around us.

[00:18:34] Not because we keep our head up and our eyes focused, not because we're leaning into that time of Advent that is promised by God. No, it's not a surprise because if you're like anyone else, you've been having Christmas messages bombard you in marketing at least since Thanksgiving time, often starting even before Halloween.

[00:18:58] They tell us it's the [00:19:00] season, Christmas as it's meant to be, all the things that we're going to get. Talking about Thanksgiving instead of Thanksgiving nowadays. We're talking about how Santa delivers gifts in a imported sports car. This is the time that while you're out shopping, you're encouraged to go ahead and just get a gift for yourself as well.

[00:19:26] The idea a lot of times is... One where there's almost this underlying message that it's not American. It's not good if we don't spend a lot of money. If we don't participate in consumerism, there's something wrong with us. The best way out of the feeling, the down feeling maybe that you get during this time of year is retail therapy, right?

[00:19:53] Get more stuff. More stuff will make you feel It'll make you feel full. It'll [00:20:00] get us away from the emptiness, from what our hearts really long for, from what is going wrong with us as individuals, as a nation, as a family, whatever it is, let's splurge on our way to peace. And don't get me wrong. I think all of us like stuff at some level and stuff is something that we all.

[00:20:24] Enjoy it. It makes us feel loved. It makes us feel cared for, but until that comfy chair and until that new TV makes us feel love and acceptance, until our gizmos and our gadgets. can actually help us feel those moments of loneliness and hold us until our souls are filled, until that brokenness we know surrounds us as a people begins to overwhelm our consumerism and our contentment.[00:21:00]

[00:21:00] Maybe Christmas and Advent should mean a little bit more. That maybe we need to look for chances for love to not just be embodied by stuff. But to be incarnated, be made flesh. We need real flesh and blood arms to gather us up. We long to be gathered, to be loved, to know justice, to know peace. Even in a way that we feel deeply when we don't feel like we're feeling that way.

[00:21:35] Even when we tell everyone we're doing just fine, that we can get along by ourselves. It's all good. I'll take care of it myself. Even then, we really have that deep need for love and caring. Isaiah, Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Seems like there's a meeting going on in the kingdom. [00:22:00] A meeting where Isaiah is saying that God has the floor and he's saying, Let's send out the latest and greatest idea.

[00:22:11] Let's send out one. who can come out and recognize that need that everyone has that can give them comfort, but comfort, not judgment, not sending the wrong people to burn and fry, not kicking someone out of the kingdom and keeping only those in that believe like we believe and look like we look.

[00:22:45] No, God goes on and says, speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that she has served her term. Her penalty is paid. See, in Isaiah [00:23:00] chapter 1 through 39, it's focused on the faithfulness of the people of God. And there's a lot in that section about judgment. The people were complacent, they were selfish, they were self centered.

[00:23:14] Might sound familiar. They looked for solace in things and not God, who was present in their midst. Might sound familiar. And Isaiah preaches and preaches and preaches and it doesn't seem to amount to much. Until eventually they are overrun by Babylon, by Assyria. They're conquered. They're exiled.

[00:23:43] They're broken. And again, they're beaten. And now in chapter 40, now they're looking for arms to gather them up and give them comfort

[00:23:59] in the [00:24:00] wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness, what used to be a garden, but find that moment and make straight the path for God not because God doesn't know where he's going, but because God wants us to ask for that visit again. God isn't opening doors that we've barricaded. He's given us free will.

[00:24:28] He's given us the chance to invite him in, but we have to make that invitation. And in that moment, and that moment, maybe that word comes down, the angels come out, the chorus echoes. You.

[00:24:48] And what John is saying in this chapter of Mark and the gospel, he includes words about preparing, but maybe it seems like to you he skips [00:25:00] the comfort bit. John isn't about comfort, or at least not comfort like we generally think of it. We think of comfort as taking it easy, letting go, laying back, but that's not what John is saying.

[00:25:14] John is saying let's stir things up. Let's work hard, not take it easy. Let's not soothe troubled waters, but let's turn things upside down. John is comfort he's confident and he's sharing that the one who's coming will offer peace, a peace that transforms, that equips, that unites, a just peace that lifts up those who have been pressed down, gathers those who have been ignored, strengthens those who have been made weak.

[00:25:48] He's calling us to move beyond individualist thinking. That comfort there that is proclaimed is not your comfort or my comfort. It's our comfort. our [00:26:00] comfort. It's asking us to move and think beyond the I into the we from the me to the us. That's the invitation of Advent to find our comfort together in God's love and in community.

[00:26:18] Thanks for listening.

[00:26:21] Thanks

[00:26:21] Scott Maderer: so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this episode, do me a favor, go over to facebook.

[00:26:47] com slash inspired stewardship and like our Facebook page and mark it. that you'd like to get notifications from us so that we can connect with you on [00:27:00] Facebook and make sure that we're serving you to the best of our abilities with time and tips there. Until next time, invest your time, your talent, and your treasures.

[00:27:13] Develop your influence and impact the world.