SERMON: FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN

  

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to 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.

 

Of the greatness of his government and peace

    there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne

    and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

    with justice and righteousness

    from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty

    will accomplish this.

 

            -- when I was about 5 years old, our family took a trip to West Virginia -- on the way, we stopped off in Tennessee at a place called the Lost Sea -- it is the world's largest underground lake -- the Lost Sea is found deep inside of a mountain as part of an extensive cave system called Craig Caverns

            -- I remember walking down a steep descent into the cave -- and then we followed a lighted path that wound us farther inside the mountain until we came to the lake itself -- we got into glass-bottom boats and spent about 30 minutes riding on the water and looking at the pale white fish that would come up to the boat -- he told us how all the fish were blind because there was no need for sight in the depths of the lake

            -- eventually, we reached the other side of the lake and we all got out of the boat and began to follow the guided trail back to the opening of the cavern

            -- as we were walking along, the guide began to tell us about all the people who had used the cave in the past -- from Native Americans to Confederate soldiers during the Civil War -- he said that every one of them had one thing in common -- they all needed light

            -- about that time, the guide stopped and asked everyone to stand completely still and he had parents grab the hands of their kids -- he then turned off a light switch that was on the wall of the cave -- and we were immediately plunged into total and complete darkness

            -- you've heard the phrase, "It was so dark I couldn't see my hand in front of my face" -- this was literally that dark -- it was a pervasive dark -- almost tangible -- almost a physical presence --void of any hint of a glimmer of light at all

            -- and to this day, I still remember standing there trembling, holding my mother’s hand, and hoping for the light to return

 

            -- this morning, we are continuing to celebrate together advent -- advent is a season of hope for a people who are walking in darkness longing for the Light -- it is the time in the church when we prepare our hearts and our souls for the coming of the Messiah -- first, His coming at Christmas as the baby born in a manger -- then His coming in our hearts in salvation and with the forgiveness of sins -- and finally, His return as our Lord and King when He comes to establish His throne in Jerusalem and reign over us forever

            -- Advent is a season when we look for the Light that is to come and we rejoice in the hope we have in Christ

            -- this morning, we are going to be looking at the familiar verses from Isaiah 9:6-7, where Isaiah proclaims the hope of Israel realized through the return of the King

 

II.  Scripture Lesson (Isaiah 9:6-7)

            -- if you would, look back with me again at Isaiah 9, beginning in verse 6a

 

For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given,

    and the government will be on his shoulders.

 

            -- Isaiah opens this verse with the word, “for” -- this is a remarkable word -- all too often, we pass right over words such as these in our scriptures, but we need to see them -- we need to spend time with them -- we need to dwell on them -- because they explain the will and the purpose of our God

            -- in this case, Isaiah has been announcing a coming transition on earth -- a time of hope and life and peace -- a time when a light will shine in the darkness that will dispel it from the earth and from the souls of men -- a time when war is ended and is known no more -- a time when peace shall reign

            -- it will be a time like that of Eden -- when Adam and Eve were in perfect harmony in their relationship with the Father and there was no darkness, no war, no violence, no sin

            -- Isaiah cries out in these verses of the glorious hope of this time -- and the unwritten question from the Israelites is “How?  How will this come to pass?”

            -- and Isaiah responds, “it will come to pass…for…”

            -- it will come to pass for -- because -- a child is born to us -- a Son is given -- and that will make all the difference -- because of the coming Messiah, all will be made right again -- and we will no longer see darkness or war or crime or violence or sin in our lives

            -- with this little preposition, Isaiah announces the culmination of the Promise and all the prophecies of the Messiah throughout scripture

 

            -- the Messiah will be a child born into the lineage of the Jews -- born to “us” -- and being born makes it clear that this is referring to the incarnation of God Himself -- God with Us -- Emmanuel

            -- this child is not a created angel, as some religions like to claim -- nor is He simply the naturally born son of humans, filled with the divine Spirit -- no, this is the Son of God -- born of a virgin -- born to become one of us while still never ceasing to be God -- fully God and fully man

            -- the Son was given to us -- as it says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son…” -- Jesus was a gift -- an act of grace from the Father to a people living in darkness and sin with no way out

 

            -- “the government will be on His shoulders” -- the government will rest on His shoulders -- this is a reference to the coming reign of Christ in the millennium -- the time when He will be with us as King of Kings and Lord of Lords -- when He shall physically reign from Jerusalem for 1000 years prior to the coming of the new earth and the new heaven

 

            -- look back at the second part of verse 6

 

And he will be called

    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 

            -- as you know, when a baby is born to us, we give them a name of our choosing -- sometimes the name of our children comes from our ancestors -- we’ll name sons after their fathers or grandfathers or we’ll name daughters after their mothers or we’ll use surnames in our family tree

            -- sometimes we name our children based on the sound -- on what names just naturally come together and just sound good with our surname -- you don’t want a first name and a last name that is going to cause the child difficulty or confusion later on in life -- for instance, there is a football player at the University of Arkansas called Bumper Pool -- that’s his real name

            -- and sometimes we name our children based on what is currently popular in today’s culture -- find a culture-defining movie or tv show and you’re going to have a plethora of children named after the characters or the actors or popular singers -- right now, there’s a bunch of kids named Adele and Jamie and Claire and Elsa starting school

            -- but the thing about naming our children as we do, the names rarely reflect who that child will become -- that’s why its so common in the Bible to see people’s names change as God works in their life to change who they are and what they are to do

            -- so, Abram becomes Abraham -- the father of many nations -- Jacob becomes Israel -- he who had struggled with God -- and Simon becomes Peter -- the rock upon which the church will be built

            -- in this case, though, the incarnate child will be called by names that describe the character and nature and purpose of the Messiah -- wonderful counselor -- mighty God -- Everlasting Father -- Prince of Peace

            -- I want us to look at these separately

 

            -- first, “wonderful counselor” -- some translations divide this into two terms, changing the meaning to “He will be called wonderful and He will be called counselor” rather than one title alone, “Wonderful Counselor” -- you hear that interpretation in Handel’s Messiah in the song, “For unto Us a Child is Born”

            -- regardless, the meaning remains the same, whether it is one title or two

            -- wonderful means extraordinarily good or great -- excellent -- admirable -- impressive -- it reminds us of how we are to see the name of Jesus -- of how we are to react when we hear His name

            -- when is the last time you heard the name of Jesus and trembled in its presence? -- when is the last time you stopped and reflected on just how wonderful Jesus is?

 

            -- I like what Adrian Rogers wrote about this -- he said, "Jesus is wonderful. Everything about Him is wonderful: His birth is wonderful -- His life is wonderful -- His works are wonderful; His words are wonderful -- His death is wonderful -- His resurrection is wonderful -- His ascension is wonderful -- His intercession for us is wonderful -- His coming again is wonderful.

            “I heard of a preacher who was on a train, and he noticed a man looking out the window. And, as they went past the landscape—and it was beautiful landscape— [the] man kept saying, “Wonderful—wonderful.”

            “He’d pause and look for a while, wipe the tears from his eyes, and would say, “Wonderful.” -- The preacher’s curiosity was aroused, and he went over and sat by this man. -- And, he said, “I’ve never seen someone enjoy a train ride quite so much. Can you tell me why it is so wonderful?”

            “He said, “Sir, you don’t understand. -- I’ve just had surgery -- I have been without sight for years and years and years and years; and now, I am seeing things that I’d long since forgotten -- I’d forgotten how blue the sky was -- how green the grass was -- how beautiful the trees -- how bright the flowers.” He said, “It’s wonderful—it’s wonderful.”

            -- I pray that this is the way we react whenever we hear the name of Jesus -- whenever we realize His presence in our lives -- whenever we see His hand on us -- wonderful, wonderful, wonderful

 

            -- “wonderful counselor” -- in English, a counselor is someone who gives advice to us from their great wisdom -- who stands with us in court -- and who looks over those in their care, like a summer camp counselor with their kids

            -- as our wonderful counselor, the Messiah is our source of wisdom -- He speaks the words of God into our hearts and our souls -- He enlightens our understanding -- He gives meaning in a meaningless world

            -- He stands with us as our defender and champion -- He carried our sins to the cross to declare us free and innocent before the Father -- and He intercedes for us at the right hand of God Himself

            -- He is our Great Shepherd -- the One who watches over us -- the One who keeps us in His hand and guards our life and keeps us from all harm -- not necessarily physical harm, but eternal harm -- harm to our spirits

            -- Jesus is the wisdom and the Word of God made flesh -- and He continues to dwell in us through His Holy Spirit -- guiding and guarding and protecting us throughout our days

 

            -- next we see the Son who will be given described as Mighty God and Everlasting Father -- a reminder again that the Messiah is not just a man -- not just an earthly king -- but fully man and fully God -- part of the blessed trinity

            -- when Isaiah is describing the Messiah as the Everlasting Father, we need to understand that Isaiah does not mean that Jesus is the Father -- rather, this is a reference to the role of the Messiah as the author of our salvation and the protector of the faith -- Isaiah described Him as our everlasting father because he won for us eternity on the cross by paying the penalty for our sins and defeating sin and death forever -- in this sense, He is our father because He is the author and perfecter of our faith and cares for us as a father cares for his children and provides for our needs

           

            -- Mighty means having or showing great strength, force, or intensity -- it means being powerful or strong -- possessing impressive power

            -- this is no ordinary child who will be born on Christmas morning -- this is the mighty God who will bring light and life to this world and conquer sin and death once and for all

            -- it’s obvious here that Isaiah is proclaiming to the Jews that the long-awaited Messiah will be God Himself wrapped in human flesh -- God incarnate -- God with us

            -- Jesus is our Mighty God -- He is our Everlasting Father -- as Jesus said in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one” and in John 8:58, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am”-- Jesus is the Great I Am -- He is God incarnate -- He is God with us -- and He will return to be our King and our Savior and our Lord for all eternity

 

            -- I think my favorite Christmas song of all time, “Mary, Did You Know?” captures this proclamation of Isaiah so wonderfully in its last verse:

 

“Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy is Heaven's perfect Lamb?

That sleeping child you're holding is the great I am”

 

 

            -- finally, we see the Messiah prophesied as the Prince of Peace -- the One who will finally bring lasting and eternal peace to this world

            -- peace is something that all of us long for -- it is what we have been looking for since the fall in the garden of Eden -- but true peace cannot be found in this world -- it cannot be found in any of the places the people are looking for -- true peace is found only in the person of Jesus

            -- that’s because peace is not a precept but a Person -- the Messiah is our peace because He is the Prince of Peace

 

            -- when the Bible speaks of peace, it doesn’t speak of it the way we normally do -- when we speak of peace, we recognize it as the absence of conflict -- the absence of war -- in other words, peace is what we experience when war and conflict and hostilities cease

            -- but, the Bible realizes peace as not the absence of something, but the presence of God permeating all -- the Hebrew word for peace is Shalom -- it is defined in the positive, because it not only erases war and hostility, but it brings with it serenity and harmony and restoration -- it makes all things right -- it restores what once was back to God’s original plan

 

            -- Shalom results in several different expressions of peace in our lives and in this world

            -- the first is peace among men -- the traditional definition of peace as we understand it -- the absence of war and hostility

            -- the second type of peace is peace from God -- that internal feeling of comfort and support that lets you survive daily in the chaos and the struggles of life

            -- the third type of peace is peace with God   -- this is the peace of Christmas -- this is the peace of the cross -- this is the peace that only Jesus can bring -- this is the peace that Isaiah is talking about in this passage

 

            -- J.I. Packer wrote, “The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity—hope of pardon -- hope of peace with God -- hope of glory" -- all because of Jesus -- all because God didn't give up on us, but sent His only Son in exchange for peace with us

            -- In Chapter 2 of the Gospel of Luke, we read that after Jesus was born, angels appeared to shepherds who were there in the fields outside of Jerusalem and proclaimed to them the birth of a Savior -- the birth of the Messiah -- and promised peace and good will to them from the Father above -- they promised peace would come through Jesus

            -- it is this promise of peace through Jesus that leads Isaiah to proclaim Him as Prince of Peace

 

            -- verse 7

 

Of the greatness of his government and peace

    there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne

    and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

    with justice and righteousness

    from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty

    will accomplish this.

 

            -- in verse 6, Isaiah’s prophecy began with a child -- here in verse 7 it concludes with a King -- the baby who was born in the manger -- the Christmas Child who died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead on the third day and ascended to the Father in Heaven will return again -- this time as King of King and Lord of Lords

            -- His kingdom will be greater than any kingdom ever before known -- its greatness will continue to increase as God’s grace and mercy continue to be poured out on us for eternity -- and it will be an eternal and everlasting kingdom -- a kingdom with no end

            -- when Isaiah says that the Messiah will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, it is a prophecy that the Messiah will come from the house and line of David -- if you remember a couple of weeks ago, we looked at the covenant that God made with David that said a descendant of David would sit upon the throne of Israel and reign in righteousness forever -- that is the same thing that Isaiah is prophesying here

            -- it also means that the kingdom of the Messiah will be based in Jerusalem and will be established with justice and righteousness -- we’ve all seen how power corrupts people and how governments tend to favor their supporters over others -- that will not be true in the kingdom of the Messiah -- here true justice will be known by all and righteousness and holiness will reign from the throne

           

            -- Isaiah says that the zeal of the Lord will accomplish this -- zeal means intense fervor, passion, and emotion -- to have zeal means that you have an interest or devotion in pursuing something

            -- in this case, Isaiah is saying that the Lord desires to establish His throne on earth -- that He desires to be with us as our God and our King -- that He desires that His will would be done and that peace and righteousness and holiness would be known among all those in His kingdom

            -- the time is coming, the Bible says, when Jesus will return and we will know Jesus as the King on His throne and we will finally experience true and lasting peace in our lives forever

 

III.  Closing

            -- Years ago, there was an ad in the New York Times that said, "The meaning of Christmas is that love will triumph and that we will be able to put together a world of unity and peace." -- In other words, the ad proclaimed that since we have the light within us, we are the ones who can dispel the darkness of the world -- and if we work together, we can create a world of unity and peace and overcome poverty, injustice, violence, and evil

            -- we live in a time when the term, “Fake News,” is commonplace -- know this:  that ad was fake news -- it wasn’t true, because we cannot do what the ad proclaims -- it is impossible for us as humans to come together to create a world of unity and peace -- that is not what Christmas is about -- that is not what Advent teaches

            -- no, the only One who can create a world of unity and peace is the One who was born in the manger on Christmas morning -- the One who went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and who rose from the dead on the third day -- the One who will return again as King of Kings and Lord of Lords

            -- it is then that we will realize a world of unity and peace -- it is then that we will know what it means to live in righteousness and holiness and justice for all eternity

            -- this is the hope of Advent -- this is the Light of Christmas that is promised to us -- this is what we are waiting for

            -- so, as we close in prayer, let us remember to prepare our hearts for His coming and to proclaim the good news of Christ and of Christmas to all we see

            -- let us pray

SERMON: GOD’S PROMISE TO INDIVIDUALS

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to 1 Kings 16:29-33 and 1 Kings 17:1

 

1 Kings 16:29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. 30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

 

1 Kings 17:1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe[a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

 

            -- a few years ago, I decided I wanted something different -- something special -- for supper -- and so I stopped at this local butcher shop that people had been telling me about -- I looked at their steaks and hamburger, but I wanted something else -- and then I saw their porkchops -- they had the best looking porkchops I had ever seen -- they were thick -- they were big -- they were perfect for the grill -- so I bought several of them and brought them home for supper -- I could just picture what this meal was going to be like -- I could literally taste the pork chops in anticipation of what was to come

            -- I put the charcoal on the grill and, as I waited for the coals to get ready, I prepared the pork chops -- I put salt and pepper and seasoning on them -- and got them ready for the grill -- but, you know, when I was getting them ready, I noticed they had a little bit of a smell -- didn’t smell quite right -- but we hadn’t cooked pork chops in a long time -- thought it might be something I wasn’t familiar with -- and didn’t think anything about it

            -- the coals got ready -- I put the chops on the grill -- they sizzled and they browned and they looked perfect -- and when they got done, I just had to sneak one little taste -- so I cut off the tip of one of the chops and it was perfect -- cooked to perfection -- I stuck it in my mouth and took a bite and almost gagged

            -- it was rotten -- it was spoiled -- this meat had turned and wasn’t good -- I don’t know what happened at the butcher shop -- I don’t know if the cooler wasn’t working or the meat had been left out too long, but the promise of me enjoying grilled pork chops was quickly dashed because the meat had spoiled and was no good

 

            -- well, this morning, that’s where we find the nation of Israel -- last week, we looked at the reign of David, Israel’s first great king -- and we talked about the Davidic covenant that God made with David and with Israel -- the great promise He gave them that He would be their God and they would be His people and that David would always have a descendant on the throne of Israel

            -- and while God’s promises are always true and always “yes” in Christ, the people didn’t hold up to their end of the promise -- as we find ourselves here in the middle of 1 Kings, we see the nation of Israel has split into two separate kingdoms -- with 10 tribes in the north making up the nation of Israel or Samaria -- and 2 tribes in the south making up the kingdom of Judah

            -- Ahab, the son of Omri, is now the king of Israel -- and Ahab is not a good king -- he is not a moral man -- he is not a man of God -- in fact, as we see in 1 Kings 16:30, it says that Ahab did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him

            -- Ahab was bad enough, but his wife Jezebel was worse -- she was not Jewish -- she was from another country, and when Ahab married her, she brought with her the religion of her country -- and, along with Ahab, proceeded to replace the worship of the One True God with the worship of Baal, a foreign god

            -- thus, the character of the nation and the promise were spoiled because the people turned away from the Lord to follow false gods

            -- but God was faithful and held true to His promise -- He stirred the heart of Elijah, a Israelite from Tishbe in Gilead, and called him to cry out to the nation to repent of their sins and to come back to Him -- to get their attention and as judgment on their idolatry and sins, God proclaimed through Elijah that He was sending a drought upon the land that would last three years -- during that time, there would be no dew or rain in the land, except at His word

            -- so, that’s the backstory of Elijah -- the prophet who has been called by God to remind the people of the promise and to proclaim the word of God to the nation of Israel at the start of Ahab’s reign

 

            -- through this series, we’ve been looking at the promises of God in the Bible, focusing primarily on His big covenantal promises to Abraham, to Moses and the Nation of Israel, and to David

            -- but we have to keep in mind that God’s promises and God’s grace are not just for nations and kings -- they are also for us -- for the individuals and the people whose names will never be written in history books -- for men and women just like us -- people going about our days and trying to live for God in our daily lives

 

            -- I was at a Promise Keeper’s event one time, and the speaker told the story about the time he lost his socks -- he was a teenager and he needed these particular socks for school -- so, he asked his mother if she had seen them -- and she called back up, “have you prayed about it?”

            -- his response was that God was too busy with running the universe to care about a pair of lost socks -- he was trying to make the point that God doesn’t bother himself with the little person -- with the smallest of the small -- but concerns Himself only with the big picture and the big people -- but he prayed and asked God to help him find his socks -- and, sure enough, when he opened his eyes, he saw them

            -- stories like this and passages like this one in 1 Kings 17 remind us that God’s promise is not just for the nations and their kings and leaders, but it’s also for us -- so let’s look at this chapter now and see how God’s promise of daily grace came to pass in the life of Elijah and a foreign widow

 

II.  Scripture Lesson (1 Kings 17:1-24)

            -- look back at 1 Kings 17:1-6

 

1 Kings 17:1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe[a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

 

2 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”

 

5 So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

 

            -- so, after God had Elijah go to Ahab and pronounce a drought on the land because of their sin, the word of the Lord came to him again and told him to leave Samaria and to go to the Kerith Ravine and the Kerith Brook -- some translations have this as the “Cherith” ravine and brook

            -- you’ve got to think that Ahab and Jezebel were not very happy with Elijah or with God -- he’s come to them and told them that God is punishing them for their sins by keeping rain and dew from their land -- which is going to lead to the failure of their crops and famine in the land -- this was not a good message to hear -- and so, God had Elijah leave the area to get away from the angry rulers

            -- the Kerith Ravine was east of the Jordan River near Gilead, the place where Elijah was originally from -- it was about 30 miles from Samaria, the capital of Israel, and from the place where Ahab and Jezebel lived -- and in the middle of a wilderness -- there were no towns nearby -- there were no people -- there was only rugged mountains and a mountain stream -- Elijah didn’t really have to worry about Ahab or Jezebel finding him, but he did have another problem -- he had no food -- he had no water -- he had no way to take care of himself there in the midst of the wilderness

            -- but in verse 4, God tells Elijah that He will take care of his daily needs -- that Elijah would drink from the brook and eat what the ravens brought him

            -- notice that it says that the ravens would feed Elijah there, by the brook-- nowhere else -- God had a place where He wanted Elijah, and that was where God’s promise and provision would meet him -- the same is true for us -- we all have a place where we are supposed to be -- the place where God wants us -- and His providence and grace meets us in that place and not in the place of our choosing

            -- Elijah trusted God’s word -- he set out on a 30-mile journey across the Jordan to the Kerith Ravine -- and everything was just as God had said -- ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and evening -- and he drank his fill from the brook when he was thirsty

            -- God’s promise was fulfilled, even in the wilderness -- even when it seemed impossible

 

            -- verse 7-9

 

1 Kings 17:7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.”

            -- eventually, the drought that was affecting the nation of Israel began to affect the waters in the Kerith Brook, and it began to dry up -- that’s a reminder that all our sins and our actions have consequences -- not just to us, but to those around us -- Elijah had not sinned by worshiping false gods, but he was affected by the sins of the nation, none-the-less

            -- so, the word of God came to Elijah again and God told him to go to Zarephath of Sidon -- this is completely in the opposite direction from where he had started -- Zarephath was on the Mediterranean coast -- about 100 miles west of where he had been staying in the Kerith Ravine -- and, to top it all, Elijah was going to have to go through Samaria and Israel and all the people mad at him because of God’s word to get there

            -- but that’s what God does to us -- sometimes, we will be happy and comfortable where we are -- enjoying the promise and God’s daily grace -- when He will speak to us and tell us to move -- to go to somewhere distant -- somewhere uncomfortable -- somewhere where the people may not be happy with us or where they don’t know us -- all because He wants His word and His faith to grow in a different place

            -- think about the evangelist Philip in the New Testament --  he was a successful preacher -- large following -- told to go to the desert and minister there -- and when he went, he met the Ethiopian eunuch and led him to salvation -- which resulted in God’s word spreading throughout the continent of Africa

 

            -- verse 10-16

 

1 Kings 17: 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

 

12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

 

13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

 

15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

 

            -- God had sent Elijah to Zarapheth with the promise that God would have a widow there take care of him -- and when he got there, the first person he saw was that very same widow gathering sticks -- so he called out to her and asked him to bring him some water -- and as she was going, he called out to her again and said, “And, while you’re at it, please bring me a piece of bread”

            -- at this, she stops and confronts Elijah -- “I don’t have any bread -- I don’t have anything to give you -- I’ve got just enough flour and oil to make just one more meal for me and my son before we die -- that’s why I’m gathering sticks -- to build a fire to bake the bread for our last meal -- but, there’s not enough for you, too”

 

            -- look at how Elijah responds to her as he shares God’s word and promise to her

 

            -- first, Elijah tells her to not be afraid -- that’s our default response, isn’t it? -- when the hard times come on us -- when the drought happens -- when we’re told our job is going away -- when there’s more month than there is money -- when the sickness imprisons us in bed -- when a loved one passes away -- our first response is fear-- how can we live now? -- how can we make it? -- what will we do?

            -- fear leads to doubt -- doubt leads to worry -- and worry leads to stress and anxiousness and a loss of hope

            -- Elijah speaks to the widow and tells her to not fear, because fear is not of the Lord -- fear looks ahead and imagines the worst, and that’s just what was going on with this widow -- she looked ahead to her future and saw nothing but death and trembled in fear for herself and her son

            -- but Elijah was telling her, “Don’t be afraid, for One is here who is greater than the drought -- just as He provided for me in the wilderness and led me to this place, He will provide for you and your family if you but trust and do not fear” -- faith cannot live where fear reigns

           

            -- next, Elijah asks her to step out in faith and trust in his God -- remember, this woman is not a believer in Yahweh -- that’s why she says in verse 12, “As surely as the Lord your God lives” -- she didn’t know God, but she recognized that Elijah did -- and now Elijah is asking her to trust his God by going against her better judgment -- going against her instincts -- and making a cake of bread for him first -- to take what little flour and oil she had, and to give it to him in faith

            -- just as Elijah went through a crisis of belief when God told him that ravens were going to feed him in the wilderness, this widow is going through one, too -- will she believe in the God of the Israelites and trust in Him to provide through this drought, or will she continue to believe in her idols that haven’t been able to provide for her so far?

 

            -- finally, Elijah proclaims the promise of God to this woman -- if she believed -- if she took that first step and made the cake of bread for him in faith -- then she would find her oil and bread would never fail -- God would continue to provide for her and her son and would even give her enough to take care of Elijah until the day the rain returned

            -- His promise was predicated on her faith -- she would not receive His gift unless she trusted in Him enough to receive it -- to take that first step of faith and believe

            -- this reminds me of the story of the man in the desert who was dying of thirst -- as he’s making his way in the desert, he sees an oasis and rushes there -- but there’s no water -- only a hand pump and a well -- next to the well is a jar of water and a note that says, “The well is good and there is plenty of water -- use this jar of water to prime the pump and you will have more than enough to drink -- and refill the jar for the next traveler to use” -- the man had a choice to make -- did he trust in the promise of unending water and pour the water from the jar into the pump or should he just drink the water that he had in his hand? -- he did what the note said -- and he had more than enough water to drink and carry with him on his journey

 

            -- sometimes, when we are in the midst of a trial, God wants us to demonstrate our faith first, before He moves and fulfills His promise in our lives

            -- it’s easy to believe in God when life is going well -- it’s easy to come to church and sing the hymns of praise when the sun is shining and life is going right -- but, it’s another thing to come and believe and sing when it seems like nothing is going right

            -- but, as we see in this passage, it’s in the hard times that we find our faith tested, matured, and made stronger

            -- this widow had no faith in God before Elijah came, but yet she took that first step of faith and went away and did everything that Elijah told her to do -- she offered to him all that she had, having to trust that God would move in response to her faith

            -- and we read that from that moment on, there was food for her and her family and for Elijah every day -- the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry -- for God fulfilled His promise to her and to Elijah in their time of need

 

            -- verse 17-24

 

1 Kings 17: 17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

 

19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

 

22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

 

24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

 

            -- we read that some time later, the woman’s only son grew ill and died -- despite living in the miracle of the promise everyday with the flour and the oil, she still blamed God when calamity came her way -- we’ve got to remember that she was not an Israelite -- she was not a believer, even though she had been blessed through the promise -- she didn’t understand why this bad thing had happened, and she blamed the God of Elijah

            -- Elijah took her son into the upper room and prayed to God three times for his life -- God heard Elijah’s prayer and returned the boy to life -- this is the first resurrection mentioned in the Bible

            -- Elijah brought the boy downstairs and gave him back to his mother and she proclaimed, “Now I know that you are a man of God and the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth”

            -- she’s not a believer yet, but she’s certainly headed that way because of the faith she had seen in Elijah and the promises and blessing that the Lord had brought about in her life

 

III.  Closing

            -- this widow did not deserve to be blessed by God -- she wasn’t one of the Chosen People -- she wasn’t an Israelite -- she wasn’t part of the covenant -- but God knew her need -- and He knew Elijah’s need -- and the promise met them at the place of intersection between a man of God and an idol worshiper from a foreign country

            -- the whole point of this passage is to let us know that God’s promise is for all of us -- none of us deserve to be blessed by God -- the Bible tells us that all of us have sinned and fallen away from the glory of God -- all of us have strayed from Him just as much as Ahab and Jezebel and the nation of Israel did

            -- but God is faithful and His promise holds true and He pours out His promise and His grace and His mercy into our undeserving lives -- that’s why we call it amazing grace

 

            -- God’s blessings to the widow from Zarapheth are a reminder to us that no one is outside the grace and mercy of God -- God’s prevenient grace calls out to the most hardened sinner and the most unrepentant believer -- through his experiences in her household, Elijah realized that the nation of Israel could be changed and saved if they would but turn back to God, even as the widow was changed through God’s grace and promise in her life

            -- and God’s blessings to Elijah and to the widow remind us that God’s promises and blessings are for all of us -- not just for kings and leaders of nations -- the Bible says that a sparrow can’t fall to the ground without God’s notice -- and that He cares for us more than the sparrow

            -- God wants us to live in His blessing and in His promise -- but it takes a faithful response on our part -- we have to trust -- we have to believe -- we have to live in the covenant

            -- that means we try to live holy lives through the power of the Spirit within us -- that we repent of our sins and walk the path of God in our daily lives -- that we look to Him to meet our needs and not the government or the rulers or anyone else -- but that we put our faith and trust only in Him

 

            -- as we close today, let me encourage you to take a look at where you are with Him -- are you walking with God? -- are you keeping short accounts and repenting of your sins when you do things that aren’t right? -- are you trusting in God and believing in His promises and in His grace?

            -- God’s promise is for all of us -- from the prophet beside the Kerith Brook to the widow in a foreign land to the people in the pews this morning -- trust God -- believe in Him -- and live for Him daily

            -- let us pray

SERMON: THE BEGINNING OF ADVENT

  

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Malachi 3:1-4

 

Malachi 3:1 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

 

2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.

 

            -- the movie "Henry Poole is Here" focuses on the life of the title character, Henry Poole -- Henry is a young man in his thirties who has just been diagnosed with a terminal illness -- he has no friends -- no family -- so he decides to move back to the only place that ever felt like home -- the neighborhood where he grew up in a working-class suburb of Los Angeles -- to die alone

            -- but instead, he finds himself pulled into a story of faith and hope and life that contrasts sharply with what he had planned

            -- as Henry is moving into his new house, his neighbor Esperanza drops by to visit him -- while she is there, she goes into the back yard and sees an image of the face of Christ imbedded in the stucco wall of Henry’s home -- she believes that this is a miracle from God sent to comfort her in the recent loss of her lover, who used to live in Henry’s home -- she becomes even more convinced it is a sign from God when the image seems to have drops of blood falling from Jesus’ eye

            -- this image of Jesus becomes a source of hope and faith for Esperanza -- and, before long, she is sneaking people into Henry's back yard to see the image and to experience this blessing from Jesus for themselves

            -- Henry, on the other hand, doesn’t see Jesus when he looks at his wall -- all he sees is a water stain on the side of his house -- and he becomes increasingly irritated with Esperanza's acceptance of this stain as a miracle from God in light of his own impending death

            -- at one point in the movie he yells at her, "That is nothing but a water stain -- that is not the face of God" -- to which she replies, "You're not looking"

 

            -- that was my favorite scene in the movie because it reminded me of how so often we go through our lives without looking for God -- we may sing the words, “Open my eyes, Lord, I want to see Jesus,” but we never actually do it -- we never actually open our eyes and look for God around us -- instead we go through life like Henry Poole -- all wrapped up in ourselves and never looking for the presence of our God around us

            -- I have a friend like that -- he won't see God -- not that he can't see God -- he won't -- he doesn't believe in miracles -- he doesn't believe that God is actively working in his life -- that God is present with him as he goes about his day -- and so he never sees the hand of God -- and, like Henry Poole, he never sees the face of God -- not because God isn't there -- but because he is not looking

 

            -- he’s like the child in this old poem I once read:

 

            “The child whispered, "God, speak to me" -- And a meadow lark sang. -- But the child did not hear.

            -- So, the child yelled, "God, speak to me!" -- And thunder rolled across the sky -- But the child did not listen.

            -- The child looked around and said, "God let me see you" and a star shone brightly -- But the child did not notice

            -- And the child shouted, "God show me a miracle!" -- And a life was born -- but the child did not know.

            -- So, the child cried out in despair, "Touch me God, and let me know you are here!" -- Whereupon God reached down and touched the child

            -- But the child brushed the butterfly away and walked away unknowingly.”

 

            -- how often do we walk away unknowingly -- how often do we fail to see Jesus around us -- simply because we are not looking?

            -- in the movie I talked about, Henry Poole looked at the world only with worldly eyes -- with eyes of sadness and anger and defeat because of the hand he had been dealt -- because of the terminal illness that he had been diagnosed with -- and, as a result, Henry only saw a water stain

            -- Esperanza, though, looked at the world with eyes of faith -- in spite of her deep suffering from the loss of her great love, Esperanza was looking for God -- and when He showed up, even in the most unlikely of places, she saw Him and she knew Him and was comforted by His presence

            -- as Christians, we are called be like Esperanza -- to look at life through the eyes of faith instead of the eyes of the world -- to look for Christ in the midst of the busyness and chaos of this world -- and to point Him out to others when we see Him

 

            -- I wanted to remind you of this because today is the first Sunday of Advent -- the season that prepares us to celebrate Christmas in the church

            -- most of the world thinks the Christmas season starts on Black Friday -- the day stores encourage us to start our Christmas shopping by offering all kinds of sales and incentives

            -- and because of that, we’ve gotten this idea in our head that Christmas is simply another commercial holiday -- focused primarily on giving and getting gifts on Christmas morning

            -- we may decorate and put up trees and go to parties and cantatas, but our true focus is on the gifts -- on finding the right gift to give on Christmas morning -- and that idea that Christmas is all about the gift is what drives a lot of us through the month of December

            -- we rush around from store to store or website to website -- buying things that will quickly be forgotten and running ourselves ragged in the process -- and instead of enjoying this season and growing closer to God, how many of you have said to yourself on the day after Christmas, “I’m glad Christmas is over?”

            -- it shouldn’t be like that

 

II.  The Season of Advent

            -- that’s why I am such a proponent of the season of advent -- the season of Advent runs contrary to the world’s concept of what is important this time of the year -- while the world is rushing around looking for gifts to buy at the best price, the season of Advent reminds us that we should be looking for Jesus instead

            -- Advent is the season when we are supposed to turn our eyes from the things of this world and to look forward to the coming of the Messiah

 

            -- the celebration of advent was introduced to the church several hundred years after Christ -- but the idea of advent is in the Bible from the very beginning

            -- the word advent comes to us from the Latin and means “coming” or “arrival” -- when you see this in your Bible, it is usually in reference to the coming of the Messiah

            -- so, advent is the season in which we remember and anticipate the promised coming of the Messiah -- to include both the coming of Christ at Christmas and the return of Jesus at the end of days to usher in the Messianic Age and the Millennial Kingdom

            -- some say the season of Advent anticipates the coming of Christ from three different perspectives:  the physical nativity in Bethlehem -- the Second Coming -- and the coming of Christ into our hearts when we put our faith and hope in Him as Savior and Lord

 

            -- Advent became an important season in the life of the church -- it became a time of preparation in remembrance and anticipation of the coming of Christ -- a time of penitence and fasting -- a time for new Christians to learn about the doctrine of the church and to prepare themselves for baptism, which traditionally took place on the day of Epiphany

            -- over time, other celebrations were added in the season of Advent, including the Advent Wreath, which was first introduced in Germany in the 1800’s as a symbol of God’s never-ending love for us in Jesus and the lighting of the candles showing the True Light has come into the world

            -- other celebrations included adding chrismons -- Christmas decorations with Christian symbols on them -- to our traditional Christmas trees to remind us of the true meaning of the season

            -- the whole emphasis of the season of Advent is on looking for the promised Messiah -- the One who is and was and is to come

 

            -- this fall, we went through a sermon series called, “The Promise,” whereby we tracked the promise of the Messiah through the Old Testament up through David

            -- if you remember, we began our series in the book of Genesis after the fall of man in the garden of Eden and looked at the first promise of the Messiah that was given to Adam and Eve

            -- We learned that the Messiah would be the seed of Abraham -- In Genesis 22:18 we are told that through Abraham’s offspring “all nations on earth will be blessed.”

            -- we talked about how the Messiah would come from the line of Jacob, Abraham’s grandson -- in Numbers 24:17 we read: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.”

            -- In Isaiah 11:1 we learned the Messiah would come from the line of Jesse, the father of King David: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a branch will bear fruit. The spirit of the Lord will rest on him.”

            -- and we looked at how the promised Messiah would come through the line of King David -- in Jeremiah 23:5-6, it says “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land … This is the name by which he will be called: the Lord our righteous savior.”

            -- finally, we looked at the Davidic Covenant from 2 Samuel 7:12-13, where God told David, “When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

 

            -- The promise of the Messiah continued with the prophets, and culminated in the prophecy from Malachi of the coming of the Messiah and the Day of the Lord

            -- and all through this time -- from Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis to the nation of Israel in the days of Malachi, the last prophet in the Old Testament -- God’s people looked for the coming of the Messiah -- they anticipated His coming and they prepared their hearts to receive Him

            -- that is what the season of Advent is all about -- looking for Jesus and getting ready for His return

 

III.  Scripture Lesson -- Malachi 3:1-4 and Malachi 4:1-3

 

            -- look back at Malachi 3:1

 

Malachi 3:1 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

 

            -- Malachi was the last prophet of the Old Testament -- he lived in Israel in the fifth century before Christ, after the return of the Jews to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon and after the temple had been rebuilt

            -- but even though the temple had been rebuilt and the people had come home, the hearts of the people had not followed -- they were just going through the motions of religion and their hearts were distant from God

            -- so, Malachi prophesied to the nation of Israel about the coming of the Lord and reminded them of the need to prepare their hearts for His arrival

 

            -- here in verse 1, we read the words of the Lord to the people of Israel, “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me” -- this is not the Father speaking, but the Messiah -- this is Jesus foretelling the ministry of John the Baptist prior to His coming to the nation of Israel

            -- He tells them that the messenger will come first, and then the Lord they had been seeking -- the Lord they had been waiting for -- the Messiah that had been promised since the fall in the Garden of Eden -- would come to the temple that had been prepared for Him

            -- some translations say that the Lord will “suddenly” come to His temple -- in other words, the Messiah is going to come unexpectedly and instantaneously -- so, the people need to get ready and prepare their hearts and souls for their coming

            -- in the Book of Matthew, Jesus warned us a lot about the same thing -- He told us that we need to be ready, because the Son of Man would come like a thief in the night, when we least expected Him -- and He told us the parable of the bridesmaids -- some of the bridesmaids were ready when the groom got there, and they were invited into the feast -- but others were not ready -- their lamps ran out of oil -- and they were not invited in

            -- that’s why the season of Advent is a season of preparation -- of getting ready for the Messiah -- because He can return at any moment -- as Adrian Rogers said, there is nothing left on the prophetic calendar that would prevent Jesus from returning today -- so we need to be ready for His coming -- just as Malachi warned the Israelites here to get ready for the coming of the Messiah to the temple

 

            -- verse 2

 

2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.

 

            -- this verse begins with a couple of rhetorical questions -- who can endure the day of his coming? -- who can stand when he appears? -- the answer is only those who are ready -- only those who are found in Him -- who are seeking Him -- who are waiting for Him

            -- when He comes, it is too late -- you have to be ready before He gets here

            -- when I’ve tried to talk to people about Jesus, I’ve had people tell me that they’re going to wait until they’re old or until they’re on their death bed to come to Jesus -- they don’t want to come to Him now -- they’re having too much fun in their lives of sin -- but the thing is tomorrow is never promised -- Jesus could return today and only those who are ready will be received into His presence

 

            -- verse 3-4

 

3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.

 

            -- notice that the Messiah is described here by Malachi as a refiner and purifier -- not a destroyer -- not a judge -- that’s because these verses are referring to the first coming of Christ at Christmas -- to His death and resurrection

            -- during His first coming, Jesus came to bear our sins and pay the penalty for our transgressions -- He refined us and made us pure and holy by taking our sins to the cross for us

            -- and He continually works in our lives to purify us and make us holy and righteous in the eyes of the Father by interceding for us and through the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit within us

            -- this was the ministry of the Messiah when He first came -- to purify us and refine us as gold and silver are refined -- and His word promises that when we are purified, our offerings will be made in righteousness and will be acceptable to the Lord because our worship will be true and holy

 

            -- skip over to Malachi Chapter 4, verse 1-3

 

Malachi 4:1 Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. 3 Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.

 

            -- in these verses, we read of another advent of the Messiah -- Malachi is speaking here of the second coming of Christ -- the day of the Lord -- when Jesus returns not as a refiner and purifier, but as righteous judge and King

            -- when Malachi talks about “the day that is coming,” he is referring to “the day of the Lord” -- this is a term used throughout the Bible to refer to the second coming of Christ -- to the day when the Messiah comes as King to judge the nations and to redeem the world of the curse

            -- this is the time when the peoples of the world will be separated -- as Jesus talked about in the Book of Matthew, the sheep will be separated from the goats -- the wicked from the righteous -- and the wicked will be judged for their unbelief and their refusal to trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins

            -- the second coming -- the day of the Lord -- the second advent -- is what happens at the end of the book of Revelation -- it is the culmination of the Great Tribulation as the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus is ushered in and Jesus sets up His throne on earth

            -- this is the same event that Malachi is talking about here in these verses

            -- all the wicked and every evildoer will be set on fire, referring to the lake of fire from the book of Revelation -- but the sun of righteousness -- a prophetic name for the Messiah -- will rise with healing in His wings and redeem the righteous believers who put their faith and trust in Jesus and who were ready for His second coming

 

IV.  Closing

            -- the season of Advent is about being ready -- it’s about preparing our hearts and our souls and our spirits to receive the coming Messiah -- it’s about living in anticipation of the return of Jesus, while we celebrate His first advent at Christmas

            -- we are people of the promise -- we are the people of Christmas and people of the cross -- we are the ones who should be aware of the imminent return of Christ and should be pointing this world to Him -- telling them to “Look” and “Get Ready” -- instead of rushing around with them in the hustle and bustle that is our American Christmas season

 

            -- we can’t forget the tragedy of Israel -- after Malachi wrote these final words of his prophesy and warned the nation to get ready for the coming of the Messiah, the people closed their ears and they closed their eyes and they quit looking for the One who was to come

            -- God gave them 400 years to get ready -- 400 years to return to Him -- to repent of their sins and their religiousity -- and to come back to Him with all their hearts and minds and souls and strength

            -- and when the time was right, the Messiah came in a way the nation of Israel did not expect -- and they missed Him

 

            -- I think about the words to the Casting Crowns song, “While you were sleeping,” a lot this time of the year -- let me share with you the opening lyrics to the song:

 

“Oh little town of Bethlehem

Looks like another silent night

Above your deep and dreamless sleep

A giant star lights up the sky

And while you're lying in the dark

There shines an everlasting light

For the King has left his throne

And is sleeping in a manger tonight, tonight

 

“Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping

For God became a man

And stepped into your world today

Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history

As a city with no room for its King

While you were sleeping

While you were sleeping”

 

            -- I pray that we are not caught sleeping when Jesus returns as the nation of Israel was

            -- the season of Advent is to wake us up to the reality of the Messiah -- to stir us to look for His coming -- to help us to prepare our hearts and souls for His return

            -- as we begin our season of Advent together this morning, let us remember the reason for the season -- it’s not about gifts or decorations -- it’s all about Him and living in light of the return of Jesus

            -- so, as we close in prayer, let’s begin to prepare our hearts and souls to receive Jesus -- let’s pray that we would be awake and that our eyes would be opened -- so that we might be ready when He comes

            -- let us pray