The Government Shall Be Upon His Shoulders

If you have your Bible with you, you can open it up to Isaiah chapter 9.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

And with Christmas only 12 days away,

I had wanted to spend this time this morning reflecting on something that would prepare us to celebrate as Christmas draws near.

But again and again, there was a second thing that kept coming up for me this week,

even in the past couple weeks, and that's this whole issue of government.

This week alone I had four people, actually not from this church but outside of it,

who wanted to talk to me or get in touch with me in some form about when we as Christians should disobey the government.

Maybe some of you were invited to go to the protest that was held yesterday in Regina.

This past week we saw the Alberta government increase restrictions upon their citizens

and make it illegal for anyone who doesn't live alone to gather with another household this Christmas.

And so as much as I've been wanting to focus on Christmas this past week,

what it is that we're about to celebrate,

my attention keeps getting pulled back to government and to COVID.

And I will say I'm saddened by how many in the church,

many Christians are handling themselves in the midst of this situation.

Some are arguing, some are fighting,

others are rallying supporters to protest and calling those who won't join them spineless and cowardly.

Some are saying that we have a Christian duty to defy the government and engage in civil disobedience

and that those of us who aren't are being unfaithful to God.

This past week I was scrolling through Facebook on Scott Moe's own post

and finding people that were saying,

shame on you, Scott Moe,

and then clicking on their profile and they're a Christian.

The pride, the arrogance, the selfishness, the foolishness,

the impatience of Christian people is leaking onto the stage of our nation for all to see.

And we've already seen a few churches capture the attention and scorn of many

for deliberately defying public health orders.

And I can tell you as a pastor watching this,

this is very sad.

A lot of people are pointing their fingers and their words at the government.

Amazingly, almost everyone seems to think that they know better

just how to govern a million people here in Saskatchewan

than the current people that we have in government.

I've been thinking about that old Christmas classic,

It's a Wonderful Life.

Some of you will have seen that.

George Bailey, in a moment of frustration,

expresses his wish that he had never been born.

Things are going so bad for him.

And an angel comes and gives him the chance

to see what his life would be like

if he had never been born,

what the people in his community would be like.

I wish we could give that opportunity

to everyone who thinks that they know better than the government.

The opportunity for all these people

to see what it would be like

to have been the Premier of Saskatchewan

or the Chief Medical Officer for the past year.

It doesn't matter that none of us know a thing

about provincial leadership and administration

or about immunology or about virology.

Somehow, many of us think that we are an expert

because we've been sitting at home

reading things on our devices,

our computer, on the internet, on email,

finding out what's really going on

and how we should really be handling this.

And more than anything today,

I think what the Church of Jesus Christ needs to do

is to simply turn off our phones,

to shut down the Facebook, the email, the YouTube,

and open our Bibles up

and read them

and get on our knees and pray.

If Christians all across Canada

would simply do that for the next month,

I think we'd be amazed at how clearly

God would speak to us

about how we ought to live in these days.

I think we'd be amazed at how much joy

we'd find in the midst of what's going on,

how much strength.

I think we'd be amazed at how much encouragement

and wisdom God has already given us

for such a time as this.

I got thinking, you know,

do you want to have peace in the midst of all this?

Do you want to get that grumblebee out of your bonnet?

Do you want to see your anger and frustration

melt away into peace and joy?

My advice is turn off the internet,

open your Bible,

and feast.

Too many of us are simply letting the news,

our Facebook friends,

preachers we don't even know,

YouTube,

guys sitting in their basements recording videos,

we're letting them tell us what and how to think,

and God himself

is being drowned out

by all these voices

and is not getting through to us.

Everybody wants to blame the government

and criticize the government.

It's the government's fault.

This policy is unfair.

This is unjust.

How come they have applied these rules

to this sector

and not to this one?

This policy takes away my freedoms.

Let me be clear,

I'm not here to defend the government this morning.

But we will open the scriptures

and look at what they have to say

about government

and civil disobedience

after we have celebrated Christmas.

I think that's really important for us.

This morning,

I want to point our hearts

to a passage

that gives us a reason

to celebrate

at Christmas

even as we think of

government.

long ago,

God spoke through the prophet Isaiah

and he said this.

This is Isaiah 8.22.

Then they will look toward the earth

and see only distress

and darkness

and fearful gloom.

Nevertheless,

verse 1 of 9,

Nevertheless,

there will be

no more gloom

for those who are in distress.

The people walking in darkness

have seen

a great light.

On those living in the land

of deep darkness,

a light

has dawned.

Down to verse 6.

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.

Of the greatness

of his government

and peace,

there will be no end.

He will reign

on David's throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing

and upholding it

with justice

and righteousness

from that time on

and forever.

the zeal

of the Lord Almighty

will accomplish this.

Many of us

are used to hearing

these words at Christmas,

but I wonder

if this Christmas

these words

don't mean a little bit more.

Isaiah spoke first

about the darkness

of his day.

He lived in dark times

and the people of Israel

were about to go through

even darker times

in the near future.

He spoke of how

this darkness

would persist

until a future day

when a great light

would come

over the horizon.

These words remind me

that even though

we live in dark times today,

they're not as dark

as times in the past.

Why?

Because the great light

has dawned.

Jesus,

this child

that was promised

long ago,

this son

who was to be given

has come

and has been given.

2,000 years ago

in Bethlehem,

he was born.

And this is what

we celebrate at Christmas.

But what's so wonderful

about this prophecy

is that it's about

so much more

than just a birth.

you might wonder,

how can we celebrate

Christmas this year

without a large gathering

with family?

How can we do it

without a whole bunch

of people together

exchanging gifts,

without big turkey dinners,

amidst all these restrictions?

How can we have joy

in the midst of all this?

we can celebrate

and have joy

because Christmas

is not just about a birth.

It's about the birth

of a king

who will someday

put Scott Moe

and Justin Trudeau

and Joe Biden

or their successors

out of a job.

Do you hear that

in these words?

For to us

a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government

will be

on his shoulders.

I love this sentence

which God spoke

long ago

through Isaiah.

It starts with a birth

and it ends

with a statement

about government.

It makes no mention

of the several thousand

years in between

because they do not

alter the reality

of who this child is

and what he will

someday do.

The government

will be

on his shoulders.

Are you dissatisfied

with your current government?

I've got news for you

this Christmas.

You're going to get

a new one.

This child

who was born

in Bethlehem

2,000 years ago,

the man who

sojourned

through the land

of Israel,

was crucified

by a coalition

of governments.

That same man

rose up from death

and ascended

to the throne

of heaven

and in God's

wise planning

and perfect timing,

that same man

will return

with great power

and glory

and take up

the responsibility

of governing

the great kingdom

of God

here on this earth.

You're getting

a new government.

Jesus will

someday return

and he will

come to shoulder

all of the

responsibility

of oversight,

decision making,

policy creation,

law enforcement

and leadership

for all of

God's people.

The governments

of that day

when he returns

will be

displaced

and superseded

by the king

of kings.

What will this

government be like?

Isaiah tells us,

of the greatness

of his government

and peace.

There will be

no end.

Greatness.

Let's think about

that for a minute.

All of the

great governments

of the past

have at least

one thing in common.

No matter how

great they became,

their greatness

came to an end.

Think of the

Egyptian empire.

The pyramids

came to an end.

Think of

Alexander the Great

and what he

managed to

accomplish

in his brief

window in history.

It came to

an end.

Think of the

greatness of

the Roman empire

at its heights.

Military strength

unrivaled.

It came to

an end.

We might even

think of

present day

governments

who can rival

the greatest

nations of

our world

today.

Yet for all

their greatness

there will

come a day

when their

greatness

will fade

and will

recede

before this

one great

government.

The kingdom

of Christ.

The kingdom

of God.

His kingdom

when he returns

will be great.

His government,

his governing

will be great.

And it will go

from great

to the greatest

of all time.

and from there

it will continue

to become

greater

and increase

in greatness

forever.

Of the greatness

of his government

there will be

no end.

It will never

be taken over.

It will never

fall.

It will never

be superseded

by another kingdom,

people,

nation,

leader.

not ever.

Not only

greatness

but peace.

Of peace

that comes

about

from his

government.

There will be

no end.

If you ever

take the time

as my wife

has

to read

through a brief

summary of the

world's history

one thing

will stand out

to you

for sure.

There has been

a lot

of wars

again

and again

and again.

There are

these seasons

in which

people live

in peace

and wars

and hostility

has ceased

and then it

happens again.

War comes.

Hostilities

happen.

But when

the child

that was born

in the manger

in Bethlehem

returns

there will be

peace

forever.

Not just

the cessation

of wars

but the

cessation

of all

conflicts

fights

arguments

disputes

no more

COVID

squabbles

no more

feeling

unsettled

about people

in the world

somewhere

whose freedoms

are being

stripped away

for this

reason or that

no more

enemies

or threats

of any

kind

of the

peace

that comes

with his

governance

there will

be no

end.

what else?

Isaiah

says he

will reign

on David's

throne

and over

his kingdom

establishing

and upholding

it with

justice

justice

that's

something that

we long

for in our

world today

isn't it?

No more

corruption

no more

lies

no more

using

positions

of power

to achieve

personal

benefits

or to

do

favors

for

friends

no more

of the

guilty

getting off

easy

or free

and never

again

the innocent

being

wrongly

convicted

justice

from the

time that

he comes

and establishes

that kingdom

from that

time on

and forever

righteousness

there's been a

lot of talk

in our day

about governments

trying

or failing

to do the

right thing

but when

Christ

the one

who was

born

2000 years

ago

returns

he will

not only

know

what's

right

he will

establish

what is

right

and he

will

uphold

what is

right

from that

time on

it says

and forever

and so

we have

reasons

big reasons

to celebrate

this Christmas

to celebrate

with all

of our

hearts

because no

matter what

restrictions

are on us

from the

government

this will

pass

and a day

is coming

when we

will have

a new

government

a perfect

government

and we

will have

that

forever

the zeal

of the

Lord

Almighty

will accomplish

this

we might

read this

and think

well that

just

sounds

impossible

how could

we ever

have an

existence

like that

maybe that's

the reason

why God

chose to

paint us

this picture

here with

broad brush

strokes

about the

kind of

government

and kingdom

it will be

rather than

getting into

all the

details

maybe it'll

look so

new and

unfamiliar

to us

that it

would just

blow our

minds to

even try

to describe

it

we wouldn't

even be able

to comprehend

it perhaps

but lest we

think for a

moment that

this is

impossible

this final

statement

reminds us

that it

is possible

it's possible

because of

the one

who will

bring it

about

the zeal

of the

Lord

Almighty

will accomplish

this

he is

the Lord

Yahweh

the creator

the one

who spoke

our universe

into existence

he is

almighty

there's

nothing

that's

impossible

for him

that he

cannot do

and by

his

zeal

by his

desire

he will

bring about

this

good

kingdom

with his

chosen

king

and it

will last

forever

and so

we celebrate

not just a

birth at

Christmas

but a

birth that

changes

everything

a light

that when

it finally

comes to

reach the

full light

of day

will totally

dispel all

of the

darkness

in our

world

we celebrate

the birth

of our

king

the Lord

Jesus

when he

comes

he will

solve all

the problems

of our

world

the problems

that earthly

governments

have made

and the

problems

that earthly

governments

have

try as

they may

just been

unable to

fix

and so

I want to

encourage us

to put our

hope in

that this

Christmas

and to

truly rejoice

one day

this king

who came

long ago

and was

born in

Bethlehem

will come

again

in his

words

soon

he will

return

and the

government

will be

upon his

shoulders

and we

will come

to that

moment

where we

will take

up these

words

from

revelation

the kingdom

of the

world

has become

the kingdom

of our

Lord

and of

his

Christ

and he

will reign

forever

and ever

what a

wonderful

and glorious

day

that will

be

let's

pray

father in

heaven

we thank

you that

you have

given us

hope

and reason

to celebrate

centuries

ago

and we

trust that

you will

do all

that you

have

promised

please help

us in

these days

God not

to be

dragged down

with

discouragement

not to be

dragged into

arguments and

complaining

help us to be

filled with joy

and full of

hope

make us a bright

and shining light

in the darkness

all around us

this Christmas

we ask in

Jesus name

amen

rumor

you

you