ࡱ> |~}` Gbjbj .v?<<<<<<<,(7(7(7(7d7T;B77777777AAAAAAA$-ChEZA<J<77J<J<A<<77A???J<<7<7A?J<A??<<?77 ;g!(7=*?A B0;B?E>>E??tE<z@@7:&9?::777AA>777;BJ<J<J<J<dD5D5PT(<<<<<< Waiting for Someone to Turn On the Lights Micah 4:95:5a You actually feel the rumble of the concussions before you hear the deafening explosion -it hurls you from your bunk to the frigid steel floor --as the flickering emergency lights provide some clues, you scramble toward the screams of your fellow sailors -you still have no idea whats happened, but it cant be good --any explosion 350 meters below the surface is never good...but deep inside you sense this will soon turn into a living nightmare As you make your way toward the control room, you are met by an onslaught of a dozen crewmen rushing toward you -theyve managed to seal off the torpedo room and the control room --they tell you there was some sort of violent blast in one of the torpedo tubes...dozens are already presumed dead...and the sub is rapidly taking on massive amounts of icy, Arctic water -with no control of the boat, with no communication to the outside world, and with no power, help will need to arrive soon A total of 23 of you make your way to section 9 in the stern -by the time you reach the engine room, you are gradually aware of an eerie, almost smothering silence --the engines are dead...and youre taking on water...which means ...you are sinking...and youre powerless to do anything to stop it -for a while, no one says anything...you all know you will soon plow into the bottom of the Barents Sea...and no one is sure if the sub will be able to stay intact after the impact --after what seems hours, you find outwithout any warning you are all thrown against the starboard wall --the lights go out, leaving you completely disoriented -the twisting steel strains and protests...but the Kursk holds together --she comes to rest, now listing at a 60-degree angle, so in the pitch-black room nothing is where it should be Now there is more silence...and the reality of your situation begins to set in -you have no food, no water, no heat, no way to treat the injured -most critically, you have no contact with anyone who can help you --and you have no idea if anyone has any idea you are dying The hours turn into days -the air quickly becomes thick and putrid -theres not much talking, really...not like youd expect there would be --you hear some praying...others you hear sobbing quietly -over time, you find yourselves huddling closer and closer for warmth Of course you wouldnt know it, but by this time the world has heard of the Kursk and her crew -but the stories were more about the incompetence of the Russian Navy than about your fate --in one of the interviews you didnt hear, naval expert Norman Friedman told CNN that the worst part by far would be the lack of any communication...not knowing if anyone would rescue you ---he said, If they actually had...contact with the outside, that would give [them] a sense of hope. -naval expert Norman Friedman didnt have the slightest clue about the depths of your desperation On your last day alive, one of your comrades, Lt. Dmitri Kolesnikov, writes a letter to his wife, Olga -unaware he was speaking aloud as he wrote, it was if he were dictating the letter to himself --you hear him say, All the crew from the sixth, seventh, and eighth compartments went over to the ninth. There are 23 people here. . . . None of us can get to the surface. --You know I have always loved you. I think I loved you when I first heard your voice. Its that voice I long to hear once again, but I am convinced now that I wont. Please always remember that my last thoughts were about you, my love. --I am in total darkness. I am writing blind. Yours forever, Dmitri And you, Dmitri, and 21 other sailors in compartment 9 give up hope together -and you, Dmitri, and 21 other sailors in compartment 9 take your last breaths together waiting for someone to turn on the lights and save you --but no one does, and your entire crew of 118 die in the dark Imagine that -imagine slowly, painfully coming to the realization that no one would arrive in time --and you are completely helpless...you can do absolutely nothing to save yourself...and you simply wait...wait without hope to die As Joe read from Isaiah 9:1-7, there is an unquestionable darkness that always seems to accompany hopelessness -darkness is the perfect picture of the uncertainty of hopelessness -in total darkness, youre no longer sure about your past...youre not certain about whats going on around you...and you definitely have no clue about what your next step will bring --darkness and hopelessness both push you to give up --youre beyond being sad...and its more than depression...its more of a mix of desperation and an emotionless acceptance of whats coming...and you realize you cant change the inevitable --you get to the point where you cant see the point any more Chances are many of us have experienced that...perhaps because of -regrettable decisions weve made or -circumstances beyond our control or -sickness, divorce, or death or -the loss of a job, a friendship, or a dream --all of them can cover you in an overwhelming hopelessness --and when youre mired in it, it can be almost impossible to get free Twenty-seven centuries ago, that kind of hopelessness had its death- grip on the people of Israel -generations of turning their backs on their relationship with God had taken its toll READ MICAH 4:9-11 Judgment was comingin fact, it was already being felt -the consequences of living with their back to their God would be far more severe than theyd ever counted on --they were stumbling in the dark...alone...and helpless ---theyd turn for help or directionto their king, for examplebut they would only be let down time and time again ---theyd look for guidance everywhere except the only One who could provide what they truly needed Were a lot like them, arent we? -we accept poor substitutes for love, grace, and forgiveness -we make some person or some thing our God and then shake our heads in disbelief when were left disappointed every time But as Israel waited for their conquerors to burst through the city gates, God plants a seed of hope READ MICAH 5:2-5a That seed wouldnt bear fruit for another 700 years, but it didnt matterhope, no matter how faint, is still hope But this promise had to leave em scratching their heads -this great leader is coming from Bethlehem? --Bethlehem? Bethlehem was so insignificant, it had the distinction of failing to be even a thousand-man city ---back then, a city was measured by the number of men it could send into battle...Bethlehem couldnt even muster 1000 But listen to the incredible things said about Him -He would be no ordinary king --He wouldnt worm His way to the throne by political maneuvering ---no, He has been chosen by God Himself ---He is from eternity --He will lead in Yahwehs name and power --He will provide genuine security because He is truly Lord over all the earth --and He Himself will be their peace The promise seems too fantastic to be believed -but deep in their hearts, the people desperately want to believe --actually, they need to believe -and on the horizon a faint glimmer of light appears Thats how God often works, isnt it? -He makes a promise and then He waits...He waits to see if well trust Him --not trust Him when everything is working out like wed planned --Im talking about trusting Him smack dab in the middle of the darkness when were stumbling around, running into things, stubbing our toes, and falling down -Gods waiting to see if well trust Him then...and its not so much for His benefit as it is for ours --we have to know if we can trust this God of ours in the dark Bill White recorded this testimony at Emmanuel Reformed Church in Paramount, California on July 11 of this year: My name is Penny, and I am a single mother of five children. Three years ago, when my youngest child was a year old, a succession of events destroyed the life I had known, but through God's grace, I was given the life I have now. I was in a relationship with someone for 10 years, and I felt my life was good. He had a decent job, I was off of welfare, and my world was in an upswing. Then my boyfriend fell back into his drug addiction, and it took over his life, leaving me to support my five kids alone. My apartment building was sold, and I was forced to move. The only place for me and the kids to go was a motel. I made $324 a week and had to pay $343 in rent, so even though I worked 40 hours a week, I began cleaning rooms in the middle of the night at the motel. The $3 I made for cleaning each room helped to feed the kids during the week. My two older children had been attending this church's junior high ministry, and they finally convinced me to come to church on a Sunday. ...and God started speaking to me. But my life became overwhelming. It was so hard to see my children suffering because of me. I just couldn't take care of them like a mother should. One night I parked in front of the church and cried. I asked God, "Why was I given these children if I am unable to take care of them?" They were hungry, unhappy, and living in a one-room motel. They were suffering because of my inability. I was trying to fix things, but it wasn't working. So I asked God if I should turn them over to the state. I cried for about two hours that night, but I got no answer. I went back to the motel and kept going. After a few more weeks, I was falling deeper and deeper into a hole I couldn't get out of. One day after work, I was at the end of my rope. There was barely anything to feed the kids, they were arguing with each other, I had a stressful day at work, and I had to work all night cleaning rooms. There was no one to helpso I sat down at the tiny table in the room, closed my eyes, and I prayed. I asked God for strength. I told him I didn't need money to miraculously fall from the sky, but I just needed endurance through this trial. I asked him to give my children peace, and to give me a sign that I was going to make it. After I prayed, I lifted my head and took a deep breath. Right at that moment there was a knock at my motel door. There were two people from a care team at church. They were holding a cup filled with candy. I cried. I still don't know who those people were. There were still some hard times after that, but God gave me strength to find a new life. I joined a small group and became part of that wonderful family. Now God has moved me to a great place to live, two blocks from church. He brought me a promotion at work, so I don't have to clean motel rooms at night anymore. I remember so clearly the feelings of helplessness and saying, "If I can just make it through today" But our God is faithful. I look at my cup every day now. I keep it in my car as a reminder that when we as people are at our lowest, helpless and broken, if we just turn to God, he will bring us a cup. And the light gets a little brighter. Ive never been trapped in a submarine...but I have felt trapped in a hopeless situation -and Ive never been financially destitute...but I have sometimes wondered how we would pay the bills And heres what Ive discovered -God has always made good on His promise never to leave me, never to forsake me --now I dont understand that, because there have been times when Ive turned my back on Him in defiance...when Ive said I dont need Him...and when Ive carelessly wandered far away ---but Hes always proven faithful ---not always in my timing...sometimes Ill come running back to God and I expect Him to put band-aids on my boo-boos, and instead God invites me to waitoh, I know Hes therebut sometimes I need to learn all over again what it means to follow, what it means to be dependent 1 Peter 1:6-8 ( In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith...may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. How God chooses to do all of that really amazes me -He doesnt order me to grovel on my knees and beg for His mercy (even though thats exactly what I usually feel like I need to do) -He doesnt stand far off and challenge me to try to make my way to Him by being really, really good or working really, really hard (although that might make me feel worthy) --instead God did something that most of us still find unbelievable: He came to us! ---just as Micah prophesied some 700 years earlier, in lowly Bethlehem God sent His Son to be born to a peasant girl Several years ago, Pope John XXIII did something that a Roman Catholic Pope had not done for over 90 years: he visited a prison -John XXIII chose to go to one of the worst prisons in Rome --he said to the men, You could not come to me, so I have come to you." Thats what God has said to us in Jesus -one of the most difficult verses in the Bible is John 1:14 ( The Word became flesh(!) and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. --that, I hope you know, is the greatest miracle of Christmas ---its not the angels...its not the star...its not even the virgin birth --the greatest Christmas miracle is that God came to us! ---He came to us in our hopelessness...in our despair...in our darkness ----and better than turning on the lights, He gave us the One who is the Light of the world In the prologue to Leadership Jazz, Max DePree writes ( Esther, my wife, and I have a granddaughter named Zoe, [which is] the Greek word for life. She was born prematurely and weighed one pound, seven ounces, so small that my wedding ring could slide up her arm to her shoulder. The neonatologist who first examined her told us that she had a 5 to 10 percent chance of living three days. When Esther and I scrubbed up for our first visit and saw Zoe in...in the neonatal intensive care unit, she had two IVs in her navel, one in her foot, a monitor on each side of her chest, and a respirator tube and a feeding tube in her mouth. To complicate matters, Zoe's biological father had jumped ship the month before Zoe was born. Realizing this, a wise and caring nurse named Ruth gave me my instructions: "For the next several months, at least, you're the surrogate father. I want you to come to the hospital every day to visit Zoe, and when you come, I want you to rub her body and her legs and arms with the tip of your finger. While you're caressing her, you should tell her over and over how much you love her, because she has to be able to connect your voice to your touch." We were as helpless and hopeless as baby Zoe. On our own, wed have about as much chance of survival as that baby would if she were tossed out to sea. But the profound truth that God knew we also needed both His voice and His touch has changed my life. He gave us JesusGods voice and His touch...and through Jesus, God says in the dark, "I love you." 1 John 4:9-10 ( This is how God showed His loved among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. )*9:GKWj~  w |   / T V c e    ' (  ҾҾҶҶҶҪҪҖҶҶҎҎ҂ҎzzrhEc^JaJh^JaJhrd h}6^JaJhrd ^JaJh5^JaJh5h56^JaJh5h}6^JaJh^JaJh ^JaJhEch}6^JaJh}^JaJh^JaJhrmh^JaJhrmhG^JaJh^JaJ+*9: F   U  W ! ^  ^ gdrm$a$gdrmG   ! 0 5 ; ] `    % , 6 7 -.3[eij()6mпЫ𫟫Зؗؗثh ^JaJhb_hb_6^JaJhE+^JaJhY DEY"p<=$ghugd=Agdyka3CDEU[s-.Xb $&DEctuv$);?CDKRWhn"qh?Zeh=h#hb_hhQBh6hhhThb_ hb_hb_hn"qB`ac]/0r LDWgdL>gd=AW_gq"/?@aglm "Wi} b f #!.!/!0!!!!!!" "}"""Ž h4M6h2EOh4Mh4M56 h4M56h4Mh h hHkhO hI56hI h|uh#h|uh#6h|uhO6 h|u6h#hL>h|u;WijQ Q s /!0!u!!!!!! 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