Preparing Our Hearts for Advent

Announcements: signups for xmas party (desserts and baskets)

Thank Peter for preaching last week and the great job he did

New Community Group Flannel for Christmas New Format for Advent

Introduction

I want to share a story with you about one of the most brilliant Christian minds of the 20th century – though at one point, he was anything but Christian. C.S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia and countless other works, once described himself as "perhaps the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England."

Picture this: A brilliant young professor at Oxford University, sitting in his room at Magdalen College. He's surrounded by books, his mind filled with philosophy and literature, yet he finds himself wrestling with something – or rather, Someone – he can't quite escape. Lewis later wrote that he felt he was being pursued, that he was "kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting [his] eyes in every direction for a chance to escape."

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Perhaps you've felt this tension too – this sense that God is pursuing you, yet something holds you back. You see, Lewis found himself in what we might call a "now and not yet" moment. He knew God was real – that was the "now." But he hadn't yet surrendered to Him – that was the "not yet."

Much like our passage in Revelation 5, where we see Jesus as both the Lion and the Lamb – both the one who was slain and the one who is triumphant – Lewis stood at this intersection of what was and what would be. The evidence was there, the truth was clear, but the final step remained.

Then came a seemingly ordinary day in 1931. Lewis was taking a motorcycle ride to the Whipsnade Zoo. Nothing spectacular about that, right? Just a normal journey on a normal day. But he would later write something extraordinary about this trip: "When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did."

Think about that for a moment. In the space of one motorcycle ride, everything changed. Yet it wasn't really just that one ride, was it? It was the culmination of years of God's patient pursuit, years of wrestling, years of the Holy Spirit working in his heart.

As we enter this Advent season, I can't help but see the parallels. Some of us are like Lewis on that motorcycle – we're in the middle of our own journey between what is and what will be. Maybe it's in your faith, where you sense God calling you but haven't fully surrendered. Maybe it's in your family relationships, where reconciliation seems both possible and impossible at the same time. Maybe you're dealing with loss or tragedy, standing between grief and hope.

The beauty of the gospel – the beauty we see in both the Christmas story and in Revelation – is that God works in both the dramatic moments and the quiet waiting. He is both the Lamb who was slain and the Lion who is coming. He is present in our "now" – in our struggles, our questions, our daily lives – and He is leading us to our "not yet" – our future hope, our coming redemption.

Just as God pursued C.S. Lewis, just as He orchestrated the perfect timing of Christ's first coming, He is actively working in your life too. Whether you feel like you're kicking and struggling like Lewis was, or whether you're quietly waiting for God to move, remember this: The same God who turned a reluctant Oxford professor into one of Christianity's greatest advocates, the same God who sent His Son as both Lamb and Lion, is still working today.

He is the God who was, who is, and who is to come. And in this Advent season, as we remember His first coming and anticipate His return, we can trust that He is faithful in all our "now and not yet" moments.

If you have your Bibles or on your devices, would you turn to Revelation 5:1-10. If you are willing and able, would you stand with me as I read our text this morning.

This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Thank you. Please be seated.

The Lion and the Lamb

The book itself is called “The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John” We’ve shortened it to Revelation… but what it is not is “Revelations” The book is primarily a revelation of the glorified, risen Christ who is coming again like He promised to consumate His Kingdom. Primarily a vision to encourage the persecuted church of the 1st Century, but written for followers of Jesus at all times to be reminded that Babylon will not win. While it is prophetic and apocalyptic in it’s writing, the primary role of this book is to give us a glimpse of the coming King and Kingdom.

I would encourage you as your pastor, to stay away from those “Bible teachers” that hold the book of revelation in one hand and then try to decipher our times and where we are in God’s timeline. If the book of Revelation in its teaching and understanding creates a “us vs. them” posture, we’re doing it wrong. If the book of Revelation in its teaching and understanding creates in us a fear of what’s to come, we’re doing it wrong. If the book of Revelation in its teaching and understanding creates in us a desire as our nation is better than another, we’re doing it wrong. If the book of Revelation in its teaching and understanding creates anything other than an urgency to love those in our reach, to take care of the widow, orphan, the sick, to love our enemies, to hate evil, to bear fruit, to flip unjust systems, loving the foreigner/immigrant, and proclaiming that Jesus is Lord rather than any nation, government, or leader… than we are doing it wrong.

We have a picture of the Lamb who has come and a declaration of the Lion who will come again. These are two images that we see used in the Bible to describe who Jesus is. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (sacrifice; Isa 53:7; Jer 11:19; Jn 1:29) and the Lion from the tribe of Judah (King; Gen 49:9; Ho 11:10) .

The Lamb who has come

As if it had been slain:

The elder is directing our attention to Jesus, Lion of Judah and Son of David—and he is. But in “perhaps the most mind-wrenching ‘rebirth of images’ in literature,” the vision John receives and describes for us is not what anyone would expect. It is the vision of a slaughtered Lamb, not a ferocious Lion. “The shock of this reversal,” writes Richard Hays, “discloses the central mystery of the Apocalypse: God overcomes the world not through a show of force but through the suffering and death of Jesus, ‘the faithful witness Gorman, M. J. (2011). Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness: Following the Lamb into the New Creation (p. 108). Cascade Books.

Philippians 2:6–8 “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!”

Born to a young woman; His step-father a carpenter; had brothers; wept; laughed; had no form or appearance that would make us think, “yeah! of course he’s God’s chosen”… even hard enough to pick him out of crowd (Zacchaeus; Judas)

Bares the marks of the cross still (Jn 20:27) Sacrifice so we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21) Life can not exist apart from God. Sin separates us from God. Jesus’ sacrifice brings us into right relationship with God We need not doubt God’s love for you and me… He only needs to extend His hands and remind us of His great love for us

Standing in the center of the throne

The worship of God is the heartbeat of the cosmos, even when we humans on earth do not see it, participate in it, or value it. Only God is worthy to receive what others, especially powerful political figures, may want or demand: our total devotion, our praise, our crowns Gorman, M. J. (2011). Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness: Following the Lamb into the New Creation (p. 107). Cascade Books.

Jesus is at the center of all of God’s redemptive purposes. Here in this text He is in the middle of the four living creatures and the 24 elders. These all signify the wisdom and power (horns and eyes).

When the slaughtered Lamb is seen ‘in the midst of’ the divine throne in heaven (5:6; 7:17), the meaning is that Christ’s sacrificial death belongs to the way God rules the world. The symbol of the Lamb is no less a divine symbol than the symbol of ‘the One who sits on the throne.’ ” It is critical that we not miss the paradoxical significance of this Lamb of God sharing in the identity and sovereignty of God. In his exaltation Jesus remains the Lamb, the crucified one. He participates in God’s identity and reign, making him worthy of worship, as the slaughtered Lamb, and only as such. This is the consistent witness of the New Testament: that the exalted Lord remains the crucified Jesus. And this one is “the true face of God.” Gorman, M. J. (2011). Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness: Following the Lamb into the New Creation (p. 111). Cascade Books.

Worthy to take the scroll

When we look at Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb in Revelation, we see three inseparable truths: we see who God is, how He saves us, and how we should live in response. The image of the slain Lamb isn't just about what Jesus did – it shows us God's character, His plan for our salvation, and the way He calls us to live. Just as Jesus demonstrated perfect faithfulness through His sacrifice, He shows us what faithful living looks like in our own lives. Put another way: The Lamb of God shows us who God is, what He's done for us, and what it means to follow Him. All three of these aspects work together and can't be separated from each other. When we understand Jesus as the Lamb who was slain, we understand both God's heart and our calling as His people. The cross—meaning the faithful death of the slaughtered Lamb—is both the source and the shape of our salvation. Gorman, M. J. (2011). Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness: Following the Lamb into the New Creation (p. 112). Cascade Books.

The Lion is who is coming

Kingly

One who calls people to allegiance over any other nation or person.

A Kingdom that is not of this world, but a coming Kingdom that WILL come

One that can not be brought about by force or by power

Matthew 26:51–53 “With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”

Zechariah 4:6 “So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

Triumphant

Colossians 2:13–15 “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

We will reign with Him… He will cause us to reign.

This has been abused by many Christians throughout the years. They invoke God’s name and use power to accomplish what they believe is God’s desire. Often though, their actions do not line up with the way that Jesus demonstrated power. The consistent witness of the New Testament is this: that the exalted Lord remains the crucified Jesus (who has risen). And this one is the “true face of God”.

Revelation is often misread when people take it upon themselves trying wield divine power and justice to their cause. We too often want the almighty deity who will rule the universe with power, preferably on our terms, and with force as necessary.

The verb in vs 10, to regin, is a future active indicative… meaning it is going to happen. I has not yet happened. So our understanding of what it means to reign as it relates to our time here on Earth, waiting expectantly for Jesus to come, must look much like His life and ministry… that is true power.

Matthew 25:40 ““The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

Is worthy of opening the scroll

What is the scroll. We don’t know. There are a few ideas as to what it can be, I’m here for all of them.

Title deed to the Earth (Jeremiah 32)

The book of life (Mal 3:16; Rev 20:12)

A New Song

Praise

His worthiness; Revelation 5:9 “And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

Gospel

His redemptive plan to rescue humanity from death and separation, “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

Holy (consecrated for a purpose)

The Kingdom Now; Revelation 5:10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.””

We are still in the presence of sin. We are delivered from the consequence of sin, we can overcome the power of sin, and one day we will be delivered from the presence of sin.

There is still work to do (Matthew 25; Mark 4 <harvest>;

1 Corinthians 6:20 “you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

1 Peter 2:5 “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” - ministering, advocating, interceding,

The Kingdom Then; Revelation 5:10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.””

He Who Was, Is, and Is to Come

As we prepare our hearts for Advent, we see the beauty of the gospel – the beauty we see in both the Christmas story and in Revelation – is that God works in both the dramatic moments and the quiet waiting. He is both the Lamb who was slain and the Lion who is coming. He is present in our "now" – in our struggles, our questions, our daily lives – and He is leading us to our "not yet" – our future hope, our coming redemption.

He has set us apart for a purpose of His; to work through and work in to bring about His good and right plan. In our allegiance, in our worship, in our devotion to Him, He works out His purposes in and through our lives.

This advent we will study the first two chapters of Matthews gospel. We will look at Hope, Love, Joy, Peace, and Expectation. How all of these verbs are tied into the good news that the Savior has been born.

This time of year is filled with joy, love, friends, family, and sense of togetherness for some. For others, it is fraught with stress, busyness, expectation, and unrest. For others, more difficult still, it is a reminder of loss, tragedy, and heartbreak. We as a church hold all of these things in tension.

Our series is going to take us through all of these emotions and feelings as we identify with the gospel story and how Jesus saw fit to reveal Himself to His creation.

Gospel in Family: "Through broken bonds and faithful hearts, strained relationships and new starts, God weaves His story of redemption just as He did through Jesus' own family tree - showing us that every family's complexity is held in His grace."

Gospel in the Change: "Like Joseph's dramatic shift from carpenter to stepfather of the Messiah, God leads faithful hearts down unexpected paths, proving that our greatest uncertainties often become the doorways to His deepest purposes."

Gospel in the Seekers: "Just as the Magi journeyed far to find Jesus, God draws people across vast distances - geographical, cultural, and spiritual - showing that no one is too far from His reaching love."

Gospel in Tragedy: "In Bethlehem's darkest moment, God preserved His light through those who fled as refugees, revealing that even in our deepest sorrows, His presence and purpose remain undefeated."