Frost on the windows, leaves turning gold and brown plus a permissible excuse to drink hot cocoa... November is a beautiful time of year for us Californians. It almost feels like we get to experience the seasons without having to fight serious frostbite!

For all the (little) seasonal changes we get to enjoy, we also get to enjoy a season of gatherings with friends and family. Thanksgiving for being thankful and Christmas for celebrating the birth of Jesus; I imagine most of us have foundational and core memories of these holidays from over the years. From as young as we can remember to as recent as last year, there are special and joy-filled memories, and I’m sure there are bitter and grief-filled memories too.

One of my hopes for us as a church during this time of year is that we would of course give thanks for the Lord’s many provisions over the past year as well as celebrate Jesus. I just want to add one thing though... That we would do so together. Reach out to one another, check-in with people brothers and sisters you haven’t talked with for a while, intentionally invite others out or over for a meal… because not only are the holidays a time for gatherings and celebrations, they’re also a difficult time for many and we need to be there for each other.

Looking at the early church in Acts, we have a great example of the potential for church community.

King David announces that God’s brilliance, creativity, goodness, and holiness are endlessly put on display in every facet of creation. Math, literature, science, music: the world around us isn’t some stoic mystery to be solved, but a loud, living broadcast that beckons us to see and enjoy God’s glory at every turn. That invites us to be constant learners and endlessly curious in response. Going to school, going to work, starting a new book, learning a new skill, taking on a project, training to face a new challenge…these all are not ends in themselves. I don’t learn to learn. I don’t work to work. I learn and I work as a means to align my heart, my whole self, with the true Reality of the universe. To see what’s Real. I enjoy it and look forward to it because, in some way, I’m about to discover anew how the heavens are declaring the glory of God.

Maybe if I told my 15 year-old self that truth, I still wouldn’t have appreciated school. Too often I don’t appreciate it now. But I’m learning to pray for the truth of Psalm 19 to overshadow all that my kids and I do. Instead of the pressure of progress and production, David points me to worship and rest. Instead of the frustration of a class or project that I don’t understand, the Holy Spirit opens my eyes to how big, mighty, and utterly ingenious God is. I don’t have to go back to school anymore. But I welcome being called back to reality.

By His Grace,
Elder Chris Wu

Last week I journeyed down to SoCal as a delegate for our church at the 2023 General Assembly (GA) for the churches in the OMS Holiness Church of North America, our church conference. It was held at the Orange County Christian Church and hosted by both the Orange County Christian Church and the South Bay Holiness Church.  

The main theme of this year’s General Assembly was “God with Us – A New Season” with the Bible verse, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” Job 23:10. The theme and verse reflect the pandemic years and the shifts that are happening or are about to happen within the churches and the overall conference. While the GA agenda included worship, budgets, group reports, conference propositions votes, installation of the Holiness Shepherd Council, pastor commissioning and Holy Communion; time was spent in small groups and assembly time to talk about “A New Season” for the churches in our conference.

So, I ask you, with all that has happened during the Covid-19 pandemic, how has that called for the church to begin “A New Season” for the faithful and all of the conference churches? What do you see as the shifts and what do you think the new season should look like? How should our churches and congregations move forward now? That was the question that we were asked and discussed in our small groups and I ask you to consider.

King David announces that God’s brilliance, creativity, goodness, and holiness are endlessly put on display in every facet of creation. Math, literature, science, music: the world around us isn’t some stoic mystery to be solved, but a loud, living broadcast that beckons us to see and enjoy God’s glory at every turn. That invites us to be constant learners and endlessly curious in response. Going to school, going to work, starting a new book, learning a new skill, taking on a project, training to face a new challenge…these all are not ends in themselves. I don’t learn to learn. I don’t work to work. I learn and I work as a means to align my heart, my whole self, with the true Reality of the universe. To see what’s Real. I enjoy it and look forward to it because, in some way, I’m about to discover anew how the heavens are declaring the glory of God.

Maybe if I told my 15 year-old self that truth, I still wouldn’t have appreciated school. Too often I don’t appreciate it now. But I’m learning to pray for the truth of Psalm 19 to overshadow all that my kids and I do. Instead of the pressure of progress and production, David points me to worship and rest. Instead of the frustration of a class or project that I don’t understand, the Holy Spirit opens my eyes to how big, mighty, and utterly ingenious God is. I don’t have to go back to school anymore. But I welcome being called back to reality.

By His Grace,
Chris Wu

Back to school season is generally not a favorite of mine. I remember dreading it as a kid, thinking of all the responsibilities and loss of free time that came with school while regretting how little I got done during the summer (laziness is remarkably unproductive). “Back to reality!” my dad would often quip. It’s an unpleasant feeling even now just reminiscing about it. Today as a parent, I have mixed feelings. We are thankful for a safe learning environment and celebrate God’s grace in our children’s lives as they grow into the next stage of life. We feel blessed by friends and teachers and the school community. But we also can’t help but think about the incoming energy spend and inevitable complications that will come. And changing school years also means a change in the status quo, opening that all-too-familiar door of change anxiety. It’d really just be easier and less stressful if everything stayed the same.

In some ways, I’m really glad that it’s all a phase. Either as a student or as a parent, back to school is only a season – for a season. One day I won’t have to deal with it. But at the same time, I realize that the rhythms of school invite me to reflect on what learning is all about:

Psalm 19:1–2 (ESV)
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.

King David announces that God’s brilliance, creativity, goodness, and holiness are endlessly put on display in every facet of creation. Math, literature, science, music: the world around us isn’t some stoic mystery to be solved, but a loud, living broadcast that beckons us to see and enjoy God’s glory at every turn. That invites us to be constant learners and endlessly curious in response. Going to school, going to work, starting a new book, learning a new skill, taking on a project, training to face a new challenge…these all are not ends in themselves. I don’t learn to learn. I don’t work to work. I learn and I work as a means to align my heart, my whole self, with the true Reality of the universe. To see what’s Real. I enjoy it and look forward to it because, in some way, I’m about to discover anew how the heavens are declaring the glory of God.

Maybe if I told my 15 year-old self that truth, I still wouldn’t have appreciated school. Too often I don’t appreciate it now. But I’m learning to pray for the truth of Psalm 19 to overshadow all that my kids and I do. Instead of the pressure of progress and production, David points me to worship and rest. Instead of the frustration of a class or project that I don’t understand, the Holy Spirit opens my eyes to how big, mighty, and utterly ingenious God is. I don’t have to go back to school anymore. But I welcome being called back to reality.

By His Grace,
Chris Wu

Bad things will happened to us. Jesus said it in John 16:33b “In this world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
In the spring of 2021, I took a nasty fall while entering our kitchen. It really messed up my left shoulder. Two years has elapsed and I still do not have 100% shoulder functionality. Here’s my question to you and to myself: what’s my responsibility when trouble comes and what’s God’s?

For some perspective, we’ll look at the tumultuous life of Joseph, the son of Jacob. Tribulation was with Joseph from his earliest days; through no fault of his own. When he was an early teen, his brothers were jealous of the attention he garnered from their father Jacob, threw him into a deep pit and sold him off to slave traders. The traders sold Joseph to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s bodyguards in Egypt. Trouble followed Joseph there as well, as Potiphar’s wife continually tries to seduce him, then gets him thrown into prison. While in prison, he uses his dream interpretation gifts to help two of Pharaoh’s court officials,
only to have them forget about him and his good deeds, letting him rot in jail for two years. That is a long list of woes!

What’s God up to during these terrible events? Is He silent? Uncaring? Too busy? Nope! He is very much interested and involved. Twice in Genesis 39 we see that “the LORD was with Joseph” and later, “the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake”. God is active and intends to restore multiple countries through Joseph’s hardships and resolve.

In Grace and Peace,
Frank Nakasone

Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.  Joshua 1:6

In 2019, I had the great privilege and honor to follow in the footsteps of Rev. Rod Yee to become the next Lead Pastor of SanLo. It has been my great pleasure and joy to lead SanLo especially in this next phase of our history to seek a new facility.  I do feel in many ways like the Old Testament leader, Joshua, who in similar fashion followed in the footsteps for the great leader, Moses. He has the heavy task and responsibility to lead God’s people on a new pathway forward with many unknowns into the Promise Land.  

Yet, it was not upon Joshua’s shoulders that he had to carry this enormous responsibility, but it was upon God’s shoulders to carry the people of God. So, what was Joshua’s responsibility?  His responsibility was to led with faith and courage knowing that God would be there every step of the way just as He promised ("for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. - Joshua 1:9)”  

I believe the same truth holds for myself and all of us at SanLo that God is asking us to be of faith and of courage, but not in ourselves, our expertise, or our plans. Rather to be of faith in our God, who is faithful to the very end. So, we might have be of faith and of courage in Christ, especially as He leads us into a new future and possibly a new facility.  

In April, we have entered into escrow with Serving Others Worldwide to sell our facility, and we, too, are like the people of God entering into a new phase of our history here at SanLo. This will require us to be of faith, of courage, of prayer, and of diligence to follow the Lord.

Personally, I am not of fear, worry, or concern, but patiently excited in a posture of humble prayer submitting to the sovereignty of God that He will lead us in His time and in His way.  

I pray that as we enter this entirely new phase of our church’s history that you would join the Elders, Staff, and leadership in faithful prayer and courage, wherever God will take us. It will require faith, which in turn does require some matter of calculated risk, but praise God He has it all under control.

In the same light, I pray this time might be of great encouragement for you individually that it might parallel your own life, where God might be asking you to have faith or courage as a new parent, a new work responsibility, a new open door in retirement or service, or even new challenges in life.  

The lesson for us all no matter, where we are in life is to be faithful and courageous people, who depend upon a faithful and strong God. So that, our life is not about what our church or we have done, but about what our God has powerfully done.

As I’m writing this, our hometown Golden State Warriors just got eliminated from the NBA playoffs in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Although it was exciting to see them advance in the postseason this year, for most of us who have been following the team this season, we knew in the back of our minds that the Dubs’ run in the playoffs was bonus basketball. The team never really played at a high level consistently all season so any extra playoff games we got to witness were just icing on the cake. Still, it really hurts to lose, especially to our cross-state, purple and gold wearing rival.

Just a couple of months ago, my UCLA Bruins lost to the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The Bruins had a spectacular regular season so for them to lose a close game to our perennial postseason rival was painfully disappointing. Our team of experienced seniors was expected to carry the Bruins to a potential championship this year, but we were woefully eliminated much earlier than fans predicted. For both teams, it’s a dreadful time of defeat. It will take a full painstaking year of recruiting top talent, re-building the program, and reflecting on what could have been.

This feeling of dejection is familiar to all of us, not only as sports fans, and might even reach deeper in other aspects of life. Some of us might be experiencing setbacks in relationships with family members; others might be facing unprecedented financial challenges due to a bad investment; some might not have gotten into their dream school they had set their minds on; and others yet could be goingthrough a devastating challenge that they cannot bear to share with even the most trusted friend.

In these times, I look to the book of Hebrews, which reminds us that as New Covenant believers in Jesus Christ, we have the unique privilege to have direct access to our God of comfort. The author writes in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” In contrast to ancient rulers who were unapproachable by anyone but the highest advisers, we can go before the Lord and come confidently before His throne to receive mercy and grace through Jesus Christ. Immediately. No questions asked. He desires for us to draw near to Him in our time of need.

Later in verses 10:35-36, the author writes, “Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” God knows that we will, at some point, be downtrodden, deflated, and persecuted. We’re encouraged to persevere and not flee from our identity and privilege in Christ. And not only that, but we’re reminded that there is a heavenly reward awaiting us if we trust in Christ fully, especially when the going gets tough.

SanLo family, if you are feeling the weight of defeat, let us go before the Lord at His throne of grace. No need to wait a full year, or even a season, to figure things out on your own. God is near, and He delights when we call out to Him as His beloved.

I recently learned of a movement in the Christian community known as “deconstruction.”  It is a trend that has swept the American evangelical church, primarily among youth to middle aged adults causing many to question or leave their faith altogether.  So, what is deconstruction and what is causing this phenomenon?

According to author Alisa Childers, “Deconstruction is the process of systematically dissecting and often rejecting the beliefs you grew up with.  Sometimes the Christian will deconstruct all the way to atheism.  Some remain there, but others experience a reconstruction.”

I compare the deconstruction of faith to a home remodeling project.  Deconstruction begins with determining what needs to be removed or replaced before rebuilding or reconstructing to a newer and better room.  

Similarly, the deconstruction of faith is taking a close look at your faith to determine what needs to be removed or replaced.   In researching the cause of why this deconstruction of faith is happening,  I discovered that it was largely due to the disappointments, failings, and hurts caused by the Christian Church and some of its influential leaders.

There is no denying that in the past and in the present the Church has failed.  The bad news is that the Church will continue to let us down because it consists of imperfect and sinful people.  Yet, there is good news found in the hope of Jesus.  Last month,  Easter was celebrated and Christians rejoiced all over the world because Jesus rose from the dead.  The hope  of the resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith.

1 Corinthians 15:17
“And if Christ has not been raised,
your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”

 Without the resurrection of Jesus, the Christian faith is without meaning, without purpose and without hope. The hope of heaven is eliminated if Jesus did not overcome death to take away our sins. But, because in fact, Jesus rose from the dead, we are not destined to live in the hopelessness of this world. On a daily basis we are confronted with the tragedies of wars, crime, and disasters. Understanding how we live in an imperfect world detached from perfect God, we should not be surprised by these horrible realities of pain and suffering that happen both outside and inside the Church because…
                                     
Romans 3:23
“For all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God.”

Why do people lose hope and therefore faith in Jesus? It could be that hope and faith in imperfect people has caused doubt and discouragement. Rather than focusing upon the failures of imperfect humans and churches, may we center our attention upon the successes of the perfect God-Man, Jesus.

If you are in the process of questioning and taking a hard look at why you believe what you believe, my prayer is that your faith would not be lost or destroyed because of your experience with imperfect people. Rather your faith would be raised to life and restored by the truth of the resurrection of our perfect Lord Jesus, the foundation of hope.

By His Grace,
Pastor Brian

This year at church retreat, there were a lot of firsts. First church retreat after the COVID shutdowns, first retreat at Mt. Hermon, the first time many of us heard Pastor Greg Mah. This was also the first SanLo retreat for many of you who are new to our church including my wife, Alexa. If I haven’t gotten a chance to meet you yet, I apologize and hope to change that! But as I first looked out at the congregation during Saturday morning worship, I realized it was the first of hopefully many more retreats and times where this new group of SanLo would have together to sing praises to God and build one another up.

It was so refreshing to have Pastor Greg come and share God’s good word with us. If you didn’t get the chance to hear him, he started with a foundation from Psalm 23 then built from there a series of messages that encouraged us and revealed how the Lord restores us according to his good promises, and how that ultimately culminates in Jesus Christ. Whoever you are, and whatever you have gone through, Jesus can restore us, and despite our lives valleys, he can bring us places we never thought we could go while giving us so much more than we ever thought we could deserve.

I realize that there are still people and things that I still hold onto and miss dearly. Yet, even in my grief and sorrow, Jesus has the power to calm and restore my soul just like he has the power to restore you.

During the retreat, we introduced a new song (Jon Foreman‘s “House of God Forever") that pretty much takes the words of Psalm 23 and puts a melody to them. While the lyrics are familiar, hearing them sung helped me to better savor and meditate on these calming truths: “Your shepherd’s staff comforts me. You are my feast in the presence of enemies. Surely goodness will follow me, follow me, in the House of God forever.”

I pray that, as you all are going through your day-to-day lives, that you would come to see, even if just a little bit, the power that these words have. God guides us, comforts us, cares for us even as we are threatened and his goodness will follow us forever.

It was such a joy to retreat together and worship God together. But for all the fun that we had, I hope that we wouldn’t miss out on the opportunity God has for us all whether we went to retreat or not, to lift up our burdens and cares to him. That as each peak and valley come along in life, we could lean on him and learn to trust him more and more.

There is so much room for us to continue growing as individual believers, but also for us to grow collectively as a whole church. I hope that as we move forward together as a church body, we would strive to become embodiments of God’s powerful and gentle healing for each other’s lives. That whoever we are or whatever we’ve gone through, that we would embody God’s restorative power to each other and to the world at large.                                     By His Grace, Pastor Josh

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it
will be given him. James 1:5 ESV

Every day we make decisions.  Sometimes the decisions are small like, “What should I eat for breakfast?” or “Which route to work is the fastest drive?”

Sometimes they're bigger questions  such as, “Should I put an offer in to purchase this condo?” or “How should I share the Gospel with my best friend?”

Most times, we don’t think about it and just make a quick decision. Sometimes, we struggle with the decision making and wonder how to make a wise choice. We want to seek out wisdom to make the correct decision.  

Where or who do you turn to for wise insight? Your first choice should be God when making an important decision. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5  

Many times, we just make the decision on our own, thinking we have the knowledge and experience to decide. Other times, we may seek a family member, friend or a recommended expert for guidance. Yet, if we feel lacking in wisdom to make the “right” decision or even when we want to make sure that we are making the correct choice, we should seek out God to help us.

So, how should we do that? For each individual, the process of seeking out God’s wisdom might vary, but for me, I try to remember to start with prayer. Asking the Lord for clarity in making a wise decision can be the first step in your process. I still try to consider all of the information and options with the hope that the Lord will help direct me in my thinking. Sometimes that guidance can lead me to wise advice from others or the feeling that God is leading me to a particular choice. Other times, it still requires further prayer and searching the Bible for His direction. As James writes, we need to actively “ask God”.

Our church is trying to find a new church property and to sell our current SanLo property. In the future, our elders and church members will have to evaluate and decide on whether a possible facility and location is the one that God has in mind for our church to move to, as well as which prospective buyer and offer to accept for selling our church property. We will be looking for God to guide us.

We will be “seeking wisdom” from the Lord in what we do. When that time comes, the church leadership will ask the church members to review and consider all of the information and vote on the purchase of a new site and/or the sale of our church. That will be an important time. Please start in earnest prayer today for the Lord to give you wisdom on your voting when that time comes. If you seek wisdom from God, it will be given.                                     -Jeff Kataoka

“As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.”
(Psalm 103:13–14)

I have two kids who are over 10 years old, and two kids who are under 4 years old. That comes with its own set of challenges in the day-to-day, and some subtle ones in the year-to-year. One that I’ve had some time to reflect on is how fragile and not-fragile, or incapable and capable, I think each of my kids to be. And especially, how often I can get that mixed up while handling such a wide age range. The older my child is (we call them the “bigs,” as opposed to the “littles”), the more I start to lean on the appraisal that, “he/she is old enough, strong enough, smart enough, so _________.” And that’s a good thing most of the time. It pushes me to let them grow and be their own person, to make their own mistakes, to give them responsibility and teach them consequences. Kids don’t benefit in the long-term from excessive hand-holding or sheltering. (Maybe it’s a dad thing.)

But in reflecting on why Psalm 103 is often so precious to me as a child of God, I wonder if sometimes I miss one of the greatest things about the love of God as I endeavor to mirror it to my own children: “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” To put it another way, the true and perfect Father is compassionate to His children because He knows our limitations and created nature. He remembers that He formed us from the earth in His image. He remembers that our life comes from His breath. He remembers that we can do nothing without Him. He remembers that even when we stray, only His love and power are able to bring us home. He remembers that we are not God. And so His compassion for us is appropriately tender. I love how concise but rich David makes it by simply saying, “he remembers that we are dust.”

I wonder if I see people in that light when I think about loving them well. Especially people with whom I have some sort of responsibility relationship with, like my kids. Do I see their fragile nature as created beings? Or do I implicitly expect them to be mini-gods, thinking mostly of their powers or responsibilities? Am I willing to err on the side of compassion and sacrifice? Do I tenderly bring them along toward the fear of God by reminding them of His steadfast love in the face of their “dustiness”? Like Paul in Rom 2:4, do I understand that even in rebuke, God’s kindness is what brings us to repentance? That’s some good news I’d hope my kids can see from how I love them. And I pray it’s good news that all our neighbors and coworkers get to see as a dusty but dearly loved child of God!-Chris Wu

New Years Resolution.
Did you have one for 2022?
Or did it come and go with no significant changes to your lifestyle?

Maybe 2022 was a good year. Maybe it was a bad year.
But was there anything about 2022 that made it a special year?
Anything that could have made the days and weeks and months significant in the way you lived your life? Or was it like any other year?
Do you make a resolution every year?
Do your commitments ever last all year?
Or do they fizzle out with the changing of the month?
What’s on your New Year’s Resolution List?
Better habits? Better grades? Better relationships?
Making a list of resolutions is harder than the list you made last month.
A Christmas list asks, “What do I want as a present?”
The other says, “What do I need to change about my life?”
I would venture to guess that we all need to change something in our life.
Eat better.
Exercise more.
Be more encouraging.

The list can go on and on. Right?
That’s OK. No one is perfect.
Well, Someone was perfect 2000 years ago.
The same Someone who we celebrated on December 25.
Jesus was not only a teacher, a leader and a healer.
He was sinless.
He was perfect.
He was God in human flesh.

Jesus had no need for any resolutions.
There was nothing He had to change.
Nothing he had to improve upon.

Unlike us.
We all could use some help with keeping the commitments we make for the New Year.
Instead of trying to do it on your own, ask for help from the Only One who knows what it’s like to be perfect.

Do that and it will make 2023 a very special and significant year.

Scott Shimada

Many of you know my brother, Pastor Harlan.
Since 2004, he has led a small church in
Honolulu called Fellowship Baptist, and it
ministers to the very poor. Pastor Harlan and his
wife Dana are very active in their ministry work,
weekly tutoring elementary age kids, leading
Bible studies, and monthly passing out food and
tracts to the homeless and low income housing
areas.

Inspired by James 1:27 “Religion that is pure and
undefiled before God the Father is this: to
visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to
keep oneself unstained from the world”, Pastor
Harlan and Dana started on their Foster
Parenting journey. They were quickly notified of
two young brothers (9 & 11 yrs old) who’ve
already been in five foster homes. Previously,
these boys were living in a tent, on the streets,
BY THEMSELVES – FOR TWO YEARS!! WHAT?!
Harlan & Dana acted quickly and graciously
became their foster parents. That was in March
2018.

Let’s look at what the Bible says about adoption.
The Apostle Paul states in Romans 8:14-17 “For
all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of
God.  15  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery
to fall back into fear, but you have received the
Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba!
Father!”  16  The Spirit himself bears witness with
our spirit that we are children of God,  17  and if
children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs
with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order
that we may also be glorified with him. (Eph. 1:3-7
& Gal. 4:4-7 corroborate).
Being “led by the Spirit of God” (Holy Spirit)
means you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and
Savior, and that the Holy Spirit has made your
heart His home. The “children of God” phrase is
an interesting one. Are all humans children of
God? Nope. As verse 15 states, only those who
have “received the Spirit of adoption (salvation)”,
only those who have been united with Christ are
“His children”. In verse 16, we see that the Holy
Spirit is doing His job of letting us know that
we’re “children of God”. It gets even better, as
verse 17 states that not only are we God’s
children, but “fellow heirs with Christ” - WOW! An
heir is someone who receives an inheritance.
Constant communion with God, a new fully
functional body, everlasting life – sign me up for
that! Suffering and hardship – can I pass on that?
Look at Romans 8:17 again, “provided we suffer
with him in order that we may also be glorified
with him.” Suffering for the kingdom of God is a
part of being a child of God, a fellow heir. Yet,
even when suffering comes, we know God will
supply and care for our every need.

The beauty of the gospel and adoption spurred
Pastor Harlan and Dana to officially adopt the
two boys on October 1, 2019! It has been a
rough road, but both of the boys have accepted
Christ and been baptized!! They have been
adopted by Harlan and Dana and adopted by our
heavenly Father!!! Praise to the One True God!!!
Have you ever considered foster care or
adoption? God might be calling you to live out
the gospel in this way or supporting a family
doing the same like Pastor Harlan and Dana.

No Mere Hope – Isaiah 9:1-7 – Elder Chris Wu
 
From the new Tolkien-inspired show, Rings of Power, “Hope is never mere, even when it is meager; when all other senses sleep, the eye of hope is first to awaken, last to shut.”
 
Isn’t that great? In other words, hope is the first glimmer of light in the dark, and it’s the last light to go out when everything else has gone dark. Hope is no trivial thing. Hope, even when it is meager, is never mere.
 
I’d suggest hope implies at least a couple of things. To have hope is to say that your now is not what you hope your next to be, that is, what you long for is not (yet) here. You don’t hope unless you hunger. You don’t hope unless you long for better. And so that implies a second thing, to have hope is to wait with expectation. With anticipation. With reason, whether big or small, strong or weak, to press on. To see light at the end of the tunnel.
 
It’s no wonder that when we talk about Christmas and Advent, we find ourselves talking about hope. When the Bible talks about the arrival of Jesus, it’s talked about in terms of hope. The hope of rescue and salvation. The hope of new life. The hope of eternal peace. The hope of promises fulfilled. The hope of a person. A king. A shepherd. A savior.
 
That’s what makes the first 7 verses of Isaiah 9 so precious. God’s people are desperate for hope. They are a people walking in darkness. They are a people who have suffered greatly and are about to suffer a great deal more. They have others to blame, and (mostly) themselves to blame. They need the hope of rescue, of peace, of a future. They need a hope that’s strong and sure. If that hope is going to exist, it’s going to have to come from God Himself. And that’s exactly what God offers up here through Isaiah.
 
We’re going to focus on just a couple of key points about how special that hope is that God offers, and as we do, I want to us to consider this main idea, which is a twist on that Rings of Power quote I shared: The hope of Christ is never mere, even when we feel meager.
 
1.  The hope of Christ doesn’t share the flaws of worldly hope. (Isaiah 8:19 – 9:4)
 
The hope of Christ is never mere, even when we feel meager, because the hope of Christ doesn’t share the flaws of worldly hope. That is, the hope of Christ doesn’t look or sound like worldly hope, which has its foundation only in what people can do, and so it’s bound to disappoint in the end.
 
We’ve backed up a few verses before fully launching into the bright promise of Isaiah 9 because you see, at that time, most of God’s people had wrapped up their hopes in things like political allies and superstitious practice. They saw success and failure as dependent on the wisdom of their kings to make smart partnerships or conquests, or on the powers of various gods or magic forces in the world. God says to Isaiah, “when they say to you, ‘Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,’ should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead-on behalf of the living?” (8:19).
 
In other words, God’s people no longer connected their destiny, good, bad, or otherwise, on the God of the universe. They looked to a bag of worldly tricks as their path to the good life, and they concluded that suffering and death came because they just hadn’t pulled the right lever yet. Crazily, they thought talking to dead people was the best way to get advice and insight into the future rather than talking to the God of the living – the God who made them and was in active relationship with them.
 
But before we get high and mighty over Judah and Israel, we have to admit – that’s a version of what we’ve experienced at times. Because we’ve leaned into worldly hope before. We know that path. We might not be going to fortune tellers and mediums, but we know how easy it is to set our hopes on people, dead or alive. And when we do that, success and failure end up being dependent on the flawed actions of deeply flawed people. And frankly, if and when that fails, that’s when superstition steps in to fill the void.
 
Here comes Isaiah 9 and this beam of hope, this incredible promise from God to His people in the midst of failure and impending doom. Isaiah 9:2 “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”
 
Notice how the hope here is not the people waking up and figuring out how to dig themselves out of the ditch they’ve thrown themselves into. It’s not a wise plan from a famous guru or a strategic set of plays. On them has light shone. Light, which inherently doesn’t come from the land of darkness, has to shine on the people. Hope can’t come from within. It has to come from without. The living God has to intervene. Immanuel has to come.
 
The hope of Christ isn’t like worldly hope. It doesn’t depend on people. It depends on God Himself. The hope of Christ is never mere, even when we feel meager.                
 
2.  The hope of Christ gives us a King who doesn’t have the flaws of worldly saviors. (Isa. 9:6-7; cf. 2 Chron. 28)
The hope of Christ is never mere, even when we feel meager, because in Christ, we have a King who doesn’t have the flaws of worldly saviors. In other words, the hope we have in Christ is well placed not just because we need to trust a good leader, as if all we’ve really lacked is one, but because Christ is the only King who embodies all that we need.
 
This sounds pretty close to our previous statement that the hope of Christ is unlike worldly hope because it depends on God, the one who shines the light, but hear this important distinction: Christ the King isn’t just a king gifted from God who has good leadership qualities like being just, having authority, caring for people, and brokering peace. Christ is the King who is justice, power, love, and peace.
 
Isaiah 9:6–7 For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
 
Christ isn’t just good; He is goodness itself. The hope of Advent, the hope of Isaiah 9, is the arrival of Christ the King – the King of kings who is unlike any other.
 
This is in stark contrast to the king leading Judah when Isaiah spoke these words. We were reintroduced to King Ahaz a couple of weeks back by Pastor Josh in Isaiah 7. And if earlier we said that God’s people had resorted to a bag of worldly tricks to find peace and prosperity, King Ahaz was the man who led that attitude from the front. He sacrificed to the gods of the nations, even doing the unspeakable in offering up his own sons. He turned to Assyria for rescue and security instead of turning to Yahweh.
 
The Chronicler said this of him in 2 Chronicles 28:22–23 In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the LORD—this same King Ahaz. For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel.
 
Indeed, a bad king. And we know that kings – presidents, prime ministers, senators, governors, mayors, even managers and supervisors – have an effect on their people. Not just because they set a good or bad example, but because they actually lead us, and in turn we instinctively place our hopes, at least some portion of them, on them.
But like Ahaz, these are just people. Maybe not quite as obviously flawed as him, but imperfect and flawed nonetheless. Even the best CEO, the best leader, the wisest and most caring…even that person can only affect change to a limited degree and will only be around as long as God gives them life. So, without fail, we find our hope needing a new home.
 
So what about Christ the King? How does He compare? Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Let’s think on those titles for a moment.
Wonderful Counselor – this might not be exactly what you think at first blush. To us, “wonderful” typically just means “good” or “excellent.” And “counselor” can bring up thoughts of people like guidance counselors or even therapists who provide help and direction to those who need it. While Christ is certainly an excellent guide and comforter to us, that’s not quite what Isaiah is saying here. The root Hebrew word for “wonderful” here is peleh. That word is most often used to describe miraculous works done by God, like when He parted the Red Sea to give Israel safe passage and then brought it down on the Egyptians who pursued them. That was a “wonder” He performed. And while yes, counselors provide helpful counsel to those who come to them, there is a more authoritative and even somewhat royal connotation to it. A king’s adviser would be called “counselor”. So, what we have in Jesus here is the ideal ruler – a wise counselor who is a miracle maker. One who not only rules well, but can command nature itself to the good of His kingdom. To make springs arise out of the desert, and to make a way when it seems there is none. A wonder of a counselor.
 
Mighty God – maybe it’s Christian cliché to remind ourselves that Jesus Christ is God Himself, but this is a radical promise for Israel, the kingdom walking in darkness. The promised king is not like human kings. He is the divine Messiah. He is without limit and without match. There will be no better successor and there has never been a prior.
 
Everlasting Father – Christ is one with the Father and so stands in familial relationship to us. He is perpetually our loving Father. He is no cold and distant King, so powerful and so removed from us that we can only appreciate and love Him from afar. We don’t wait to hear His voice on the earnings call to know His thoughts toward us. We don’t appeal to Him through the office of the president and hope He reads our letters one day. He is ever close to us, closer than the best earthly father we could dream up. He cares for us at a personal level and knows us like only a perfect father can.
 
Prince of Peace – Christ’s rule is the rule of shalom. Maybe you’ve heard this, but shalom, what we translate as “peace,” was not simply the antonym of war. Shalom is not the absence of conflict, like some neutral state where just harm has been removed. Shalom is wholeness. It’s completeness. It’s flourishing. It’s a garden that’s fully grown and healthy, blooming in every corner and bursting with fruit. Christ’s rule is the rule of shalom. Not just the life of stillness sometimes people like me hope for in the midst of a buzzing, growing family with, as my three-year-old would put it, “so many babies.” It’s living in the kingdom where, to paraphrase Eph. 2:19–22, we’re not strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone. And together, in Him, we are being built into a dwelling place for God.
 
That’s comprehensively better than any hope even the best world leader could dream of offering. Certainly, better than anything I could ever expect from a dream CEO or president or boss.  It’s why Christmas is a big deal. It’s why Christian hope is not some trivial thing we decorate our greeting cards with during a special time of year. It’s the prospect of “to us a child is born, to us a Son is given” – except, it’s hope that’s already been fulfilled and will one day be more fully fulfilled when Christ reigns in heaven and on earth in eternity.  
 
 
The hope of Christ is never mere, even when we feel meager, because the hope of Christ doesn’t share the flaws of worldly hope. It doesn’t rely on what people can do and can’t disappoint the way that human efforts will. The hope of Christ is never mere, even when we feel meager, because in Christ, we have a King who is unlike any other. We behold the King who doesn’t just do good and right, but who is goodness and righteousness. The King who is a wonder of a counselor, omnipotent & divine, perpetual caretaker of our souls, and chief ruler who ushers us into His kingdom of wholeness and flourishing. The hope of Christ is never mere, especially to us who are meager.
 
 
Praise Songs:
Angels We Have Heard on Hight, Living Hope, O Come O Come Emmanuel, Doxology