My goal is to edit my sermon that I wrote during the July 4th holiday, adding more preaching and application as well as an introduction because my sermon will be preached on September 25th. However, I feel that today I stumbled upon my introduction.
I have become aware of certain shows on Disney+ that are drawing reactions from Christians who decry the evils of our time. My gut reaction is slight amusement because I can’t say that I am really impressed by the evils of our time. But without ever mentioning specific shows, because I feel this would taint the efficacy of my message, I would like to use the issue of children’s entertainment as food for thought. Consider this:
If the Immanuel of Isaiah 7 was born into the darkness of exile so that he could dispel it, how much more should we embrace our subordinate role in this world? Christ is the highest example of Immanuel per Matthew’s quote of Isaiah 7 (In Matt. 1:23). He is the preeminent example of God with us. There is no person in history who means God with us more than Him. He is “God with us” par excellence. That is Matthew’s point.
And if we as His followers are subordinate to Him so that the world hates us as well (John 15:18-21), then perhaps we are born to represent the light of the Gospel in the darkness of exile in a subordinate way also. Let me be more specific in my application: we are not absolved from suffering the evils of the world just because our Master has overcome them. Moreover, we worry about our children, but rather than be despondent for their sakes over the loss of our society’s innocence, perhaps we should embrace the fact that God is sovereign. He has our children right where He wants them. This is their time and ours.
Let us therefore highly resolve to point those in our families and within our spheres of influence to the quintessential hope that our Messiah, Jesus, is as the light of the world. He was born in to darkness to deliver us from that darkness. And in the end, He will set all things right because there is no highness as high as Him. He is God with us. His Kingdom come.
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