Good morning, everyone.
We need to cut the Bible reading short because I needed some more time to preach this morning.
I've been away.
This time, in fact, this time last week I was in Dubai.
It's a remarkable city if you've ever been there.
30 years ago, Dubai was a desert.
I mean, it still is, but it's now this city built on a desert.
And as you come into land, it's like sand, sand, sand, sand, sand, and then this city.
It's an amazing place.
It is a picture of success.
Three and a half million people live there now.
It has 13 billionaires, 202 centimillionaires, and 68,000 millionaires.
In the space of four minutes, I saw four Lamborghinis drive past me.
90% of the population are expats from all over the world seeking their fortune.
If you lose your job in Dubai and you're an expat, you've got 28 days to depart the country.
That's it.
They don't have any hangers on there at all.
So how would you do it?
That's how Dubai did it.
How would you do it?
Well, what I mean by that is how would you plan your success?
Imagine you gather some experts into the room, a bunch of friends, and with the goal to put
together a strategic plan for a successful life for you.
That you would leave the world a better place.
How would you, what would your strategic plan include?
There you go.
I'm going to give you one minute.
Turn to the people around you and come up with a list.
Thank you.
All right.
That'll do.
The strategic plan is amongst us.
Struggle to do that without a whiteboard and some sticky notes.
But the rest of us, hopefully you come up with something.
If you've just joined us, you've just tuned in, we are working our way through the Old
Testament book of Isaiah.
It's about 800 years before Jesus.
So we're winding history back a fair bit.
Isaiah begins with God bringing a message of judgment to his fruitless and faithless people
because of their rebellion against him and because of the way that they have been treating
one another.
They have existed in a life of comfort and ease and wealth and they have drifted for God and
his priorities in life.
And this judgment can only be averted if they repent of their sin.
And we see that in Isaiah 6 when Isaiah himself is confronted with the holiness and the glory of God.
Amid the judgment on a faithless people, there is a promise of mercy.
As we see here, God raises up a new king who will lead with wisdom and bring justice and hope.
But there are some surprises with God's king.
He's an unexpected king.
And that theme runs throughout Isaiah, but we see glimpses of it here.
So if you've got the St. Paul's app in front of you, you'll notice there's four points today.
Justice of the king, wisdom of the king, identity of the king, and follow the king.
So if you've got the app, that'll be a way to keep track of where we're up to.
So first of all, the justice of the king.
Look at verse 4 in Isaiah 11 that was just read out to us.
It says,
When it says in verse 4,
He will judge the needy, it doesn't mean there that he will condemn the needy.
It literally means he will make things just for the needy and for the poor.
The poor in verse 4 means not just economically poor, but the downtrodden, the oppressed of the world,
people who are powerless.
When it says he will give decisions for the poor of the earth,
it means that he will use his power to stand in for the poor and the oppressed
and make decisions on behalf of the poor and the oppressed, the downtrodden.
He will use his power and authority for the sake, if you like, of the underlings,
the minority, the oppressed, the poor.
Now we could be tempted to view here, just on a surface reading of this verse,
to think that this king of God, God's king,
is little more than a great civil servant crusading for social justice.
What overturns that view is verses 6 to 8.
What those verses are saying is that the promised king
is going to do a whole lot more than just make the world a better place for some.
He's not just about social justice.
This king is going to rid the world of death, disease, violence, suffering, fear.
He's going to make everything right.
He's going to bring ultimate reconciliation, renewal and rest to the whole created order.
Now if these verses at all seem familiar to you,
he's like, hang on a minute, I've read this somewhere before.
It's probably because Isaiah 11 is read throughout the world every year at Christmas time.
The Christmas story is the God's king of Isaiah 11,
who will identify with the poor and make everything right,
is in fact Jesus of Nazareth.
The Christmas story reveals the extent to which God's king would in fact identify
with the poor and the oppressed.
Christmas declares that God the son, the Messiah, the Christ,
God's king here in Isaiah 11, was born into a poor family.
He did not enter the world as a philosopher or as a general leading a great army,
but as the son of a carpenter.
And he worked as a carpenter himself.
His mother was a peasant girl from a poor village, an obscure village.
His ministry was mostly directed towards the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized of society,
as he preached the gospel, raised the dead and healed the sick and lifted the downtrodden.
At the very least, to follow Jesus means that his priorities become our priorities.
However, we do not only need to be concerned about the poor and the oppressed in our world right now,
as those who have allegiance to Jesus,
but we need to do it up close.
Jesus didn't commute in to help the poor and the oppressed.
In a non-patronizing way, the church,
but I would argue more specifically individual Christians,
need to figure out how to come alongside and walk close with the poor and the oppressed of our world.
At the very least, the life and the ministry of Jesus points us in that direction.
The second thing we see here about God's king is his wisdom.
Have a look at verse 2.
The spirit of the Lord will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the spirit of counsel and of might, the spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord,
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
The word counsel there is the same idea as wisdom.
That is, this king, we are told, has wisdom and might.
That simply means that he not only has the power to do what needs to be done,
but he knows exactly what needs to be done
and the best way to achieve what needs to be done.
And then in verse 3, it describes his wisdom in a surprising way.
It says, he will not judge by what he sees with his eyes
or decides by what he hears with his ears.
His justice and his wisdom come together in a very surprising way.
That is, he doesn't act.
He doesn't decide the way we act and we decide.
That is, by mere outward appearance.
He doesn't look at the surface of things.
He sees things the way they actually are.
Another way of saying that is that the wisdom of God's king here
turns the wisdom of the world on its head.
The wisdom of God's king is a violation of worldly wisdom.
God's king is going to bring justice and reconciliation,
renewal and rest for all of God's people
in an orderly, remade world,
but not as we would expect him to.
I asked you a couple of minutes ago,
what was your strategy to become successful
to make an impact in this world for generations to come?
What was in your list?
I wonder,
did it include being born in a backwater town in a feed trough?
Did it include staying away from major cultural and commercial centres
and spending your time in little villages?
Did it include staying out of every network
of political, social and academic power?
In fact,
did it include making sure that you knew no one in any of those networks?
Did it include getting executed in disgrace at a young age,
just as you started to become known?
Was any of that in your strategic plan to change the world?
He turns the wisdom of this world on its head.
This is the wisdom of God.
2,000 years since that plan was put into effect,
Jesus is still the most influential person who has ever lived.
A person of impeccable character
that today you still can't pull him apart.
One quarter of this world centre their entire lives on him.
His teaching is seen as the single most influential body of thought
in the history of humanity.
Even a few major civilisations
have their existence based solely on his person and his teaching.
That is way more successful
than Cristiano Ronaldo,
who is the world's biggest social media influencer
with 573 million followers on Instagram.
Within 100 years, he'll be forgotten,
except by a few soccer tragics.
That's nothing.
The wisdom of God makes the wisdom of this world look foolish.
And in the wisdom of the world,
the wisdom of God looks foolish.
Now, there's another way here
that the wisdom of God's king
turns our wisdom on its head.
It has to do with his miraculous work in the world.
There is a miracle in these verses,
and I want to pick it up a little bit later.
But let me just say,
miracles cut into another paradigm
of the wisdom of our world.
It makes our society
think that Christianity
and anything religious and supernatural
or spiritual
just makes it look stupid.
That's the wisdom of our world.
One of the paradigms of our society
is that everything has to have
a scientific explanation,
which means ultimately the miracles can't happen.
The supernatural doesn't exist.
Many parts of the Christian church
in the Western world
have responded to our world
and the wisdom of our world
in an attempt to align itself
and to win over the world
by, in fact, downplaying
the supernatural in the Bible and in life.
And the Western church has done this
a bit over 100 years now
that has been roaring in the Western church.
Instead, what the Western church
has wanted to do
is highlight the ethical principles
of the Bible and the Christian faith,
emphasizing love and social justice
over the supernatural work of God.
What's interesting is
that the churches
that have embraced the wisdom of this world
and rejected the supernatural of God,
His work in this world,
are in steep decline.
Steep decline.
But supernatural Christianity
is exploding in the world.
The Christian faith has grown
from 5% Christian
to 50% Christian
in 100 years in Africa.
South Korea went from 0%
to 40% Christian
in less than 100 years.
The same trajectory
is happening in China right now.
God's wisdom and work
is exploding
in the supernatural world.
Let me tell you one story
from my time in Africa recently.
Pastor from Northern Sudan.
If you want to be a Christian,
being a Christian in Northern Sudan
is very hard.
So this is a pastor
in Northern Sudan
who told of growing up
with two things
that deeply shaped
his entire existence.
The Quran
in one hand
Christian
and a deep hatred
from anyone
from Southern Sudan
and especially Christians
from Southern Sudan.
A deep, deep, deep hatred.
He was a radicalised Muslim.
One day
a new student
joined his school.
He was a Christian
from Southern Sudan.
And so with his friends
they abducted him.
They beat him.
They stabbed him.
They stole a car.
They ran over him.
They killed him
and dumped his body
in a remote area
in the bush.
Such was the depth
of his hatred
even as a school kid.
Later in life
as still as a Muslim
a relative of his
was near death
in hospital.
Like this relative
had been dying
for some time
and they were
it was the end
the family were told
to gather.
Your relative is dying.
They're there.
They're unconscious
in the hospital bed.
The family has gathered around.
There's nothing more
they can do.
And they said
in the midst of that scene
two Christian missionaries
walked in.
Before they knew it
they laid hands
on our relative
and prayed.
and as soon
as they said
amen
our relative
sat up in bed
and said
what's going on?
Pulled all the tubes
out
and walked out
of hospital.
He said
that
profoundly
impacted my life
but not immediately.
Ended up
at university
became a Christian
at university
went home
told his parents
that he's now
a Christian
and they disowned him.
They disowned him.
And when they disowned you
as a Muslim
in northern Sudan
they hold a funeral
for you.
Dug a hole out
in the cemetery.
They have a coffin
that they parade
through the streets.
There's wailing
and mourning
and they bury you.
He said
he found himself
going to his family
and saying
trying to convince them
that Christ
is the way
and they said
you're dead to us
you don't exist.
And then he found himself
early one evening
by standing
in the cemetery
looking at his grave.
tombstone there
date of birth
date of death
he's there
looking at it
and as he's standing
there looking at it
he felt a hand
on his shoulder
he looks around
and no one's there
and he heard a voice
audibly say to him
my tomb is empty
and so is yours.
Preach the gospel.
He said
for that moment
that's what I did
I preached the gospel
became a pastor
church planter
evangelist
he's still doing that
daily now
right now
in Sudan
a great fear
of his life
well he doesn't fear
his life
but a great danger
to his existence
right now.
He said
he was preaching
at this event
calling people
to respond
to Christ
and as he did
he came down the front
asked people to come
and he's praying
for them
they would receive Christ
he says
a man there
came to him
he said
well just remember
it so vividly
this person
this man walks up
to him
who clearly
broke it in life
and clearly
they needed
prayer for healing
arms was twisted
they were distorted
they could hardly walk
he said
dear brother
how can I pray
for you
he said
oh you've got it wrong
I've been praying
for you
you don't remember
me do you
I'm your school friend
who you left
in the bush
from that very night
you thought I was dead
and I was dead
but Christ raised me
that very night
I've been praying
for your soul
and tonight
I see God's answer
that
are you praying
for your friends
and your family
your neighbours
your work colleagues
are you expecting
a supernatural
work of God
in their life
supernatural Christianity
is changing
the face
of human history
Christianity
that has no
supernatural element
to it
is nothing more
than a self-improvement
religion
nothing more
than that
it seems right
it seems appealing
it seems wise
but it only works
for people
in prosperous countries
it's an elitist religion
that has no power
at all
have you bought
into it
I said that there
are miracles
in these
these verses
so let me
pull that together
as we look at
the identity
of God's king
in chapter 11
verse 1
we read
a shoot
will come up
from the stump
of Jesse
from its roots
a branch
will bear fruit
what is behind
those verses
is the description
of the judgment
of God
in chapters
9 and 10
and the picture
is of total
devastation
of God's people
because of their
faithlessness
but the promise
of a remnant
it's an image
of deforestation
a thriving forest
being cut down
piled up
and burnt
because of
faithfulness
faithlessness
of God's people
then in verse 1
the green
shoot
sprouting out
of a stump
it's a metaphor
of descending
from someone
a green shoot
is descending
from someone
coming out
of life
coming out
of someone else
it is saying
that God's king
will come
out of Jesse
who is the father
of Israel's
king David
out of the
destruction
of Israel's
God's king
will be raised
up from
David's family
line
and yet
if you go down
to verse 10
you'll notice
something
interesting
in that day
the root
of Jesse
will stand
as a banner
for the nations
a banner
for the peoples
the nations
will rally
to him
and his
resting place
will be glorious
this is again
referring to
the same
king
but it doesn't
say he
descends
from David's
family line
it says
he is the
source
of David's
family line
God's king
is growing
out of Jesse
but Jesse
grew out
of God's
king
how can
someone be
both the
shoot
and the
root
of David
and Jesse
and the
answer is
as crazy
as it seems
to our
non-supernatural
society
that the
creator God
who is the
source of
us all
was born
into the
world
as a human
being
a descendant
of King
David
from Israel
the message
of Christmas
is that the
creator God
has broken
into his
world
Jesus Christ
is not just
simply a man
concerned for
the poor
or just
simply a wise
teacher
he's not just
left us with
a great
example of
how to live
life and some
wise sayings
that we can
twitter
this is what
Matthew 1
says as
the angel
speaks to
Mary
that 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
and all
this took
place to
fulfill what
the Lord
had said
through the
prophet
then he
quotes from
Isaiah 7
the virgin
will conceive
and give
birth to
a son
and they
will call
him
Emmanuel
which means
God
with us
God's
king
in verse
11
is the
son of
the virgin
in Isaiah
7
that's the
miracle here
in Isaiah
11
God
with
us
Christmas
the Christian
faith
is
category
breaking
for our
world
because
our
world
understands
two
kinds
of
religion
and
frankly
many
Christians
are bought
into this
two kinds
of
religion
idea
the
religion
of
wrath
is where
there are
rules
and laws
that must
be
obeyed
if you
do
if you
obey
them
God
will
bless
you
if you
don't
God
gets
super
cranky
with
you
it's
a very
black
and white
simple
religion
there are
the good
people
there are
the bad
people
the other
kind of
religion
our world
understands
is the
religion
of
acceptance
God
is viewed
as a
spirit
of love
in the
world
and in
this
religion
you
must
determine
your
own
way
and you
must
accept
other
people's
ways
everything
is
accepted
everyone
is
loved
everything
is
tolerated
the
miracle
of
Christmas
the
miracle
of
the
Christian
faith
is that
neither
of
these
work
Christianity
is neither
of those
things
because
both of
those
religions
are
religions
of the
self
Christianity
is infinitely
richer
because
the one
born in
a major
is not
just a
human
being
and he's
not just
divine
he is
the
God
man
God's
king
is not
just
one
more
religious
founder
not
one
more
prophet
or
sage
coming
to tell
you
how
to
find
God
the
shoot
of
Jesse
the
of
Jesse
God's
king
Jesus
Christ
is
God
come
to find
you
God
at
Easter
as
Easter
tells
us
he
is
the
God
come
to
die
to
rescue
people
from
slavery
to
sin
you
see
the
imagery
of
verses
15
and
16
of
Isaiah
11
is
of
a
new
exodus
led
by
God's
king
as
he
rescued
his
people
from
slavery
in
Egypt
so
he
will
lead
them
from
slavery
to
sin
and
that's
why
Christianity
is so
transforming
it's
not
just
a
religion
of
wrath
it's
not
just
a
religion
of
acceptance
it's
a
religion
of
grace
and
grace
is
costly
love
yes
there is
justice
on
sin
we
see
that
in
Isaiah
9
and
10
like
Israel
before
us
we
are
not
living
as
we
should
live
there
is
lots
of
evil
and
injustice
in
our
world
and
frankly
there's
lots
of
selfishness
and
pride
in
our
hearts
every
single
one
of us
has
done
things
and
doing
things
that
we
deserve
to
be
condemned
for
yes
there
is
deserving
wrath
on
our
sin
on
the
other
hand
God
miraculously
comes
into
the
world
goes
to
the
cross
and
takes
the
punishment
that
every
single
one
of us
deserve
even
right
now
still
deserve
God
satisfies
his
own
justice
by pouring
out
his
wrath
upon
himself
that
is
costly
love
not
just
wrath
not
just
acceptance
but
God's
love
satisfying
his
own
wrath
life
that
is
the
wisdom
of
God
that
is
the
justice
of
God
and
to
our
secular
world
it
is
nonsense
have
you
bought
into
that
1
Corinthians
1
18
says
the
message
of
the
cross
is
foolishness
to
those
who
are
perishing
but
to
those
of us
who
are
being
saved
it
is
the
power
of
God
and
down
into
verse
25
it
says
for
the
foolishness
of
God
is
wiser
than
human
wisdom
and
the
weakness
of
God
is
stronger
than
human
strength
the
cross
of
Jesus
Christ
is
the
wisdom
of
God
the
justice
of
God
the
power
of
God
to
bring
regeneration
renewal
and rest
for
your
souls
as
2
Corinthians
5
tells
us
if
anyone
is
in
Christ
the
new
creation
has
come
the
wolf
now
lies
down
with
the
lamb
in
Jesus
the
old
has
gone
the
new
is
here
all
this
is
from
God
who
reconciled
himself
to
us
through
Christ
that
God
was
reconciling
the
world
to
himself
in
Christ
not
counting
people's
sins
against
them
you see
the
image
of
renewal
of
all
things
in
Isaiah
11
begins
with
the
cross
where
Jesus
became
poor
and
oppressed
was
violently
killed
so that
we can
be rich
and free
and live
in peace
with him
and this
renewal
of all
things
will finally
come to
completion
at the
end of
all time
when God's
king
judges
the world
and ushers
his children
into his
perfect world
forever
where there
is no
tears
no more
mourning
no more
crying
no more
death
no more
destruction
that scope
of things
is the
kind of
love
this
Christian
faith
this
Christian
gospel
the
kind
of
love
that
melts
your
heart
it's
the
kind
that
draws
you
to
him
it's
the
kind
of
love
that
sets
you
free
it's
the
kind
of
costly
love
that
turns
you
from
a
slave
to
the
religions
of
this
world
and the
false
hopes
and
philosophy
of this
world
into
a
child
of
God
it's
a
kind
of
love
that
turns
duty
into
delight
duty
into
delightful
choice
and
that's
where I
want to
turn as
we finish
up with
following
the
king
let me
go back
to
verse
10
again
verse
11
verse
11
goes
on
from
there
and
lists
nations
in
every
direction
of
the
compass
in
other
words
it's
saying
that
Jesus
is
the
banner
of
all
nations
he's
the
one
that
all
nations
are
to
look
to
he's
the
rallying
point
of
all
peoples
what
it's
saying
here
is
God's
king
is a
king
he
expects
to be
followed
he
expects
to be
followed
and
those
who
come
to
him
will
find
their
resting
place
in
him
not
their
burial
plot
but
their
home
and
their
place
of
rest
from
all
sin
and
evil
the
restless
wandering
of
life
will
be
over
as
chapter
12
tells
us
in
Jesus
we
move
from
sin
to
singing
his
praise
we
move
from
death
to
life
from
slavery
to
joy
so
let
me
just
close
off
by
first
turning
to
those
who
are
here
tuning
online
who
are
not
yet
Christians
these
verses
are
calling
you
to
rally
to
the
king
to
rally
to
Jesus
and
find
your
freedom
your
home
your
forgiveness
and
rest
for
your
souls
Jesus
is
the
rally
point
of
your
life
he
is
the
gathering
point
of
all
people
to
come
to
him
and
find
salvation
and
rest
for
your
souls
the
very
first
words
of
Jesus
ministry
was
a
call
to
repent
and
believe
the
good
news
that's
a
step
that I
personally
took
30
years
ago
today
to
repent
and
believe
the
good
news
some
of you
have
sat
here
and
listened
to
my
preaching
for
14
years
and
your
consistent
call
to
treasure
Jesus
with
all
of
your
life
and
you've
refused
to
take
that
step
I'm
calling
you
to
take
it
today
rally
to
the
king
today
secondly
if
you
identify
as
a
Christian
Jesus
is
the
banner
to
the
nations
and
all
are
to
rally
to
him
God
a
king
expects
to
be
followed
his
call
on
your
life
is
exactly
what
it
was
for
me
30
years
ago
to
repent
and
believe
the
same
call
in my
life
today
30
years
later
is
to
repent
and
believe
the
good
news
so
hear me
as
your
pastor
14
years
leading
this
church
God
I
fear
that
far
too
many
of
us
in
a
modern
church
like
this
in
the
west
do
simply
half
of
that
we
just
believe
as
J.I.
Packer
has
written
God's
purpose
in our
creation
as
in
our
new
creation
is
that
we
should
be
holy
growth
in
holiness
cannot
continue
where
repenting
from
the
heart
has
stopped
in
the
New
Testament
repentance
is
change
of
mind
metanoia
change
of
mind
John
Stott
argues
that
real
repentance
requires
an
admission
of
failure
and
a
rejection
of
sin
it's
not
just
saying
sorry
it's
an
intentional
turning
away
from
sin
towards
Christ
to be
conformed
to his
pattern
his
character
his
life
his
priorities
that's
what
repentance
is
and
too
many
of us
I think
have
stopped
a
life
following
King
Jesus
is a
repentant
life
where
we
embrace
his
character
his
priorities
and
we
turn
away
from
all
other
alternative
it's
a
life
long
journey
Packer
also
wrote
that
the
highest
priority
for
Christians
in the
Western
Church
as
disciples
in
Christ's
school
of
holiness
must
be
to
purge
complacency
and
comfort
from
our
souls
three
weeks
in
and
I'm
wondering
yet
have we
heeded
the
warning
of
Isaiah
the
people
in
Isaiah's
day
had a
great
life
they were
comfortable
they were
wealthy
they
believed
but they
weren't
repentant
and we
need to
be
I
talk to
pastors
from all
over the
place
right now
and one
of the
consistent
messages
I hear
in fact
I haven't
spoken to
a single
pastor
who has
not
affirmed
this
that ever
since the
COVID
pandemic
people have
gotten
used to
living
and
watching
church
from
their
screens
and if
they're not
watching
church
from
their
screens
they're
operating
as if
they are
operating
church
from
their
screens
most
churches
have
got
the
majority
of
their
people
back
from
COVID
but
every
single
pastor
I've
spoken
to
has
said
trying
to get
people
engaged
in
mission
and
ministry
is
almost
impossible
nowadays
why is
it
that right
now
in
kids
church
we have
only two
adults
leading
all
of
our
kids
one's
a
volunteer
and
does
it
every
week
the rest
of the
people
leading
kids
church
are
kids
themselves
who
may
either
not
yet
know
what
the
Christian
faith
is
or
are
still
trying to
discover
it
for
themselves
Ash
can't
get
volunteers
in
kids
church
why
is
that
so
let's
repent
let's
heed
the
warning
of
God's
people
in
the
early
chapters
of
Isaiah
what I
want you
to do
now
is
close
your
eyes
you
may
want to
turn
your
hands
out
in
your
lap
it's
a
posture
of
receiving
and I'm
just going
to ask
you a
bunch
of
questions
you
personally
ask
you a
bunch
of
questions
and
then I'm
going to
pray
let's
do
that
first
of all
Lord
give us
the gift
of
repentance
so let
me ask
you
are you
willing to
seek God
with all
of your
heart
are you
willing to
take
rebukes
and
instruction
from
others
especially
your
brothers
and
sisters
in
Christ
are you
resolving
to forsake
your
idols
and
inordinate
loves
do you
have
spiritual
assurance
of your
standing
in
Jesus
how
clear
and
vivid
is
it
are
you
conscious
of a
growing
spiritual
light
within
revealing
more
of the
purity
and the
goodness
of God
and his
word
the
holiness
of God
the
evil
of sin
and the
preciousness
of the
gospel
of Jesus
Christ
is your
love
for God's
people
growing
do you
find that
you are
less
judgmental
towards
others
are you
cold to
anyone
right now
is your
conscious
becoming
more tender
to convict
you in the
very first
thoughts of
sin in the
mind
sins such
as
resentment
worry
pride
jealousy
an over
desire for
power
comfort
approval
security
reputation
are you
becoming more
aware of
and convicted
about sins
of the
tongue
such as
cutting
remarks
deception
lying
gossip
slander
inappropriate
humor
or thoughtless
statements
do you
see signs
in growth
in the
fruit of
the
spirit
can you
give
example
of responding
in new
ways
with love
joy
patience
honesty
humility
and self
control
are you
able to
discern
false
and
idolatrous
motives
for some
of the
good
things
you
do
are you
able to
see that
some of
your service
of others
is in
fact
self
glorifying
are you
seeing new
ways
to be a
better
steward
of the
talents
the
gifts
the
relationships
the wealth
and other
assets that
God has
given you
Lord
Jesus
by your
grace
give us
the gift
of repentance
to follow
your king
the king
with wisdom
the king
with power
and might
the king
with infinite
love
who draws
us to
himself
too often
we have
listened to
the whispers
of the
enemy
instead of
your words
in scripture
too often
we have
enjoyed
your good
gifts
more than
you
many of
us
have a
vision for
our lives
that only
has you
as a
support
person
and not
the king
many of
us once
walked
with you
with hearts
tender to
your love
and your
leading
and yet
little by
little we
exchange
your truths
for temptations
and deceit
that led us
away from
you
many of
us
allowed
other
things
to
become
more
important
than
loving
and
honoring
you
many of
us
have
sought
satisfaction
in
other
things
than
you
and you
are the
one who
provides
all of
our
needs
forgive
us
Lord
because
repentance
has not
been in
our
vocabulary
and today
we confess
our desperate
need for
you
you have
promised
that if we
confess our
sin you'll
forgive us
and make us
clean again
as Jess has
already prayed
we ask that you
might do
in us
Lord
your remarkable
work of
transformation
and change
we truly
need your
forgiveness
and so
Lord we
ask from
this moment
that repentance
of life
may be in
our hearts
it might be
on our lips
and it might be
evident in our
priorities
Amen