Light in the Darkness

Announcement:

Next week we are starting a brand new teaching series called the Disciplined Life, just in the month of January

and in February I am going to start a longer series on the book of Revelation so Join us…Its a powerful book…

A light in the Jungle

In 2016 a 50 year civil war came to an end in Colombia

Now think about this. 50 years! America had a civil war that lasted from April 1861 to April 1865

4 years of brutal war in America that reshaped America, it has lasting effects until today.

Now Colombia had a 50 year long war! Thats crazy and devastating

On top of the civil wars there were Narco wars, the cocaine trade completely reshaped and traumatized the country as well and all that has happened in Colombia,

The democratic government of Colombia had been in a battle with the Guerrilla organization the FARC, which is the Revolutionary armed forces of Colombia…

Which means for most people in Colombia, they have never known a time when they were not at war.

This war has been absolutely devastating to the people.

· 5,700,000 people displaced

· 220,000 dead

· 50 years

So in 2016 a peace deal was signed and demobilization will began

So for Colombians these past few Christmas must have been very special. They got to reunite with family members that they haven’t seen in years

So how do you end a war that has been going on for 50 years with no end in sight?

I want to share with you the story of how peace came in Colombia because it is remarkable

A number of years ago the Colombian government said we want to change our strategy, we want peace….

See this conflict had been going on so long that they didn’t even know why they were fighting any more…

So the government got really creative and hired a marketing firm…

They said, okay, We want to end this war…And guess what we are realizing…

That violence only escalates wars, so we need your help in doing something different and creative to help…

we want you to reach out to the Guerrillas and encourage them to lay down their arms, and welcome them home…

So in a minute I want to show you just a small clip of what they did…its remarkable because they did so much more than a marketing campaign.

First they had to ask the question, what will it take for people to lay their arms down and leave the rebels?

And when they started talking to ex rebels they found this one huge insight:

“Guerrillas are as much prisoners of their organization as the ones they hold hostage”

So how do you reach a group of people who are captives?

Well they realized that at Christmas time more than any other time, people get homesick and they leave the FARQ

I am going to let Jose Miguel Sokoloff the director of marketing for this initiative tell you in his own words how this all happened…

PLAY Clip 1 Christmas Eve .37sec

Year 1: Christmas Trees help to demobilize about 5% of the guerrilla force

331 people demoralized but even more people heard about the christmas trees…

Interesting

They put light in the darkness as a beacon to come home!

I love it when governments and huge organizations begin to preach the gospel and they dont even know it

So 331 was a good number but they realized that people were telling them that they dont really travel by foot any more…

They travel by rivers

So check out what they did for the second year that they were working on getting people to demobilize

Play clip 2 Christmas Eve 1.13

Year 2: Floating lights with notes and stories, come home for Christmas

Isn’t that amazing!

People sent thousands of notes down the river to come home for christmas

They are reaching the Guerrilla forces right where they are at and encouraging them to come home

It reminds me of that 90’s worship song…waves of mercy, waves of Grace…Every move I make I see your face!

Actually there is this really cool story in the Bible about the reconciliation of Jacob and Esau.

Jacob got rich off of defrauding his brother and lying to his father…and when he walks into his land he sends waves of cattle and sheep and goats all to him and when he eventually sees his brother he says this is all a gift to you, I am sorry for the way I wronged you

Ok but that didn’t end the war

They were finding out that these Guerrilla forces had a lot of guilt and so they were wondering, when I get out of this, will I be welcomed home?

Will I be rejected for being gone for so long

Will anyone accept me?

Could I be forgiven?

so what did they do the next christmas? Lets check out the clip

Play Clip 3 Christmas Eve 1.53

Year 3: Your mother and father know you…We love you

They went after their identity

I am your mom and I will always love you

I am your father and no matter what you have done, or how much you have gone off gone off the rails, I will be there for you

So what did they do? They reminded them how loved they are!

Year 1: They put up Christmas trees in the Jungle...What? Christmas trees? And they were effective, 5% of the Guerrilla force demobilized! And they said hey everything is possible at Christmas.

And then….

Year 2: Floating lights with notes and stories, come home for Christmas. It is like, hey there is a community of people who love and cherish you, come home!

And then…

Year 3: they made it so personal…They sent pictures of the guerilla fighters as children, and from their parents the note said, before you were a guerilla you were my child!

I was so amazed by this story…and because of this they now have a peace agreement…

Its always amazing to me when governments and multinational companies accidentally preach the gospel.

When one of Jesus’ closest friends, John went to tell the story of Jesus’ life…

scholars are pretty sure that John had the other gospels available to him because those had genealogies of Mary and Joseph …

And I think he must have thought ok, they captured the Physical reality of Jesus birth

But I need to capture the spiritual reality behind it

Here is what he said:

John 1:1–5 NIV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

What Is Jesus’ friend John doing here?

John traces his account of Jesus farther back than the beginning of the ministry,

farther back than the virgin birth,

farther back even than the creation.

The account must reach back to the eternal, divine Word, God’s agent in creation and the fount of life and light.

See in the very beginning of the bible God said, “Let there be light” well before the sun and moon are created

And what John is doing is saying that Jesus is that light that stepped into the darkness

See what the whole bible is getting at is that you and I are rebels living in the darkness…

Its like what Isaiah said when he was talking about the coming of the messiah, he said

Isaiah 9:2

The people walking in darkness

have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of deep darkness

a light has dawned.

Isaiah starts with this great promise about the coming messiah…and that coming messiah would be a light in the darkness

He’d be Christmas trees in rebel controlled territory…

today we opened our service with the agonizing words of Isaiah…

Oh that the heavens would rend and that you would come down

This is the cry of God’s people

This is the cry of the world really

Even now with war and famine and death and disease we look at the earth again right now and just reflect on those words…

Oh that the heavens would rend and you would come down!

And I think that we look at all of these world situations and think…If only they would change!

If only they could be better

But its not them that needs the light, its me!

But the whole Bible is constantly telling is about the God Who sets up Christmas trees in the jungle…

The gospel tells us about God sending floating lights down the river to get our attention…

Its about God saying, hey before you were rebels I knew you, I formed you, you are my kids! I want you back…I will free you from your guilt and shame!…

Christmas is a God’s rescue plan for the rebels who live in darkness…

Maybe this service is the only one you go to all year, Good!

Maybe God is trying to get your attention!

See, God knows, we are not just imperfect creatures who improving:

We are rebels who must lay down our arms

Its not difficult to see how in any relationship, rebellion causes wounding

Rebellion hurts the relationship.

Maybe some of you have kids who are living in rebellion to you

It hurts

But when we live in rebellion to a Holy God…We need Help, we need a way back!

We are rebels in need of laying down our weapons…

So when Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount he said, forgive your enemies

Matthew 5:43-45a

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven.

Its amazing to me that the National Strategy of Colombia was to “love their enemies”

And guess what happened! It worked!

The war ended! Why?

Because it is the same strategy of the prince of peace!

The apostle Paul says it this way

Romans 5:10 NIV

For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Just like the FARQ were once enemies of the state and they sent light into the forest

They sent pictures of them as their children

They reached out to their enemies and said I want to be your friend! I have a seat for you

This is what God does for us

The point of Christmas is that God sends his son to a broken world and extends his grace to us.

He came so that you and him and make peace and then make peace with others…

Isaiah 9:6-7

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.

See Jesus is the prince of peace…He is the light, guiding us to a new reality where we don't have to live any longer in the paradigm of having enemies…

See what I’ve come to learn is that

We can not have really true love without Jesus

We cannot have true joy and happiness

We cannot have peace without Jesus

Because He is the source of all love, of all joy, of all peace

This Christmas we realize that This, the birth of Jesus…Changes Everything…

Because He puts Christmas lights up in the jungle…

Maybe today God has got your attention and there is a lot of darkness in your life…

Maybe there is a person you need to forgive this Christmas

Maybe you need to ask for forgiveness from someone…

Maybe you haven’t talked to God in a while…

Can I just say to you, its time

Its time to let him in

Its time to get into a community that loves and supports you

Its time to ask the light of the world to come into the darkness

Silent Night

Its time

Every year we end the service and our sermon time by singing Silent night and we pass off the candles as a reminder that Jesus is the light and we need to give that light to the whole world.

Maybe this year you need to make a decision to follow Jesus…When you get the light…I just want to encourage you to pray, “I’m in” Jesus….