Advent 2024 - Part 1 - A Savior Needed - A Savior Promised!

GREET EVERYONE-

Good morning Loved ones!

If I have not had a chance to meet you; My name is Scott and I am a follower of Jesus and have the privilege of serving Him as the Lead Pastor among the people of Stonewater Fellowship.

CULTIVATE

Monday Evening 8:00 pm here on the campus.

Celebrate the Gift of Christmas - Jesus

Re-gifting. Something nice - and Unwrapped.

Childcare will be provided.

ADVENT INTRO

Hope everyone had a happy thanksgiving -

Food and family and fun!

Thanksgiving was late this year!

and SO As you can tell we jump right into the Christmas Season -

Historically - since about the late 300’s when local assemblies of Christians gathered together and began anticipating the arrival of Christmas Day - The day the Church celebrated the Birth of Jesus -

The Early Church began this time of arrival - This time of anticipation of the arrival of a very important person -

In fact the most important person and the most influential person in all of History - Jesus Christ.

ONE of the Big things that Makes Jesus so influential and what makes his arrival one of the two most important events in all of human history is, Jesus is God in the flesh. Emanuel - God with us.

And So the early church, in the mid to late 300’s began setting aside time, a season, preparing their hearts and minds to celebrate this phenomenal event, the arrival of this phenomenal person - The God Man - Jesus Christ.

And that Season is still called Advent to this day.

SO LETS GRAB OUR BIBLES IF YOU HAVE ONE AND

Open it to Genesis Chapter 3 this morning as we Step into the season of Advent, as we begin a season to prepare our hearts and minds together to celebrate ONE of the two most important events in all of Human history -

The arrival of GOD in the flesh - Who dwelt among us in the person of Jesus Christ.

PRAYER OVER THIS SEASON OF ADVENT

Is and will be that as we walk through the Scriptures and messages of Advent that one of two things would happen to us.

ONE - if we are a Jesus follower -

That the Gospel would be renewed in our hearts and minds -

That the need and the severity and the eternity issues of the gospel -

The calling of God, the importance and significance of the Gospel would be renewed in our hearts, minds and in our life and as a result..

we would more and more live for Him.

TWO - if you are here or watching on live stream are not yet saved.

Maybe you even agree with the facts of history, with the facts of Christmas, that Jesus was born and he died for your sins

or maybe you just think that is just an old story from way back when.

And you come to the Christmas things that the local church does Cuz its just what you have always done and it helps you get into the Christmas Spirit.

No matter which - My prayer for you this season is that you will hear and know How much God really does love you,

how much He desires you to trust Him with this life and the one would will have after your physical death.

And in this season when you hear of the Love of God -

Gods love would compel you,

Gods love would persuade you to turn your life over to His Son Jesus, Surrender to Jesus receive Him as Lord and become a child of God

You see when God saved you, becasue He loves you, you begin to know Him one of the things that happens is you get to enjoy Him forever through His gift of eternal life with Him.

PRAYER OVER MESSAGE

Has been all week that, we wold come to know or understand in a deeper more abiding way, how much we needed and still need this savior, this child in the manger to come and save us.

You see I think it is very possible for some of us that the Story gets worn.

That we have heard it so much, and we have done the same thing every year for So long that it for somehow lost its beauty - its importance - Its significance.

And as a result we have lost the greatness of need we all have -

Somehow or another we come to the Christmas story, taking it for granted -

Like its OLD news not GOOD news -

Like we picked up the News Paper and article says “Good news” and we thought oh finally “Good news” and we began to read and realize it was a 75th reprint of the same article and so we put it away somehow disappointing that there was nothing new about tis good news.

Imagine with me

What if you met someone who had never heard the story?

When they began to hear it, it was so captivating to them that they eliminated every other distraction around them to hear the story.

And they were so captivated by the story that they read it over and over and over again so they would understand it in the smallest detail?

My prayer is that WE would be captivated like that -

That we could not know enough - WE could not get enough -

That we would eliminate all other distractions and we would want every small detail. That the Christmas Story would totally captivate us!

Let us be renewed in this season of advent!

- That the Gospel - The Good news - That God, took on flesh and dwelt among us to save us and others, some of whom are not yet His -

All of us - a people to Himself.

Captivates our minds and hearts like we have heard it for the very first time.

ENGAGEMENT –

Ever been in a situation and asked the question:

“Who is responsible for this?”

Who is to blame?

Lawyers and insurance companies call this “liability” -

Who is Liable for the damage or the crime?

Who’s fault is it?

And this question usually happens when Something goes wrong -

Here is the funny part about this - we begin asking this question very early.

But we ask it in the inverse - We don't ask it we tell it -

Its not my fault!

WE like to exclaim -

You see when something bad happens we want to find someone to blame - We want to find out WHO is responsible.

And we are all very quick to Say - Its not my fault!

And we also do a great Job blaming others -

In fact we are so good at blaming others we all have this tendency to blame others for our own behavior!

Why were you speeding? the officer asked.

My Boss is going to be mad -

My Wife is already mad -

and this starts very early as well.

Why did you hit your brother? Because HE…

We Even blame others for our own emotions.

Why are you so angry? He made me angry! - becasue He did that or she did this.

TENSION

The Problem that this creates when we take the attitudes, responses and the questions of “Who is responsible” and “Someone is responsible for this mess!

and we Blame others for our emotions and our actions.

Into our relationship with God -

What happens to us is we get stuck in a comparison mode -

Comparing our goodness or our self image to how we judge others.

And when we are in comparison mode - we Fail to see the world as it really is - we fail to see ourselves as we really are -

We fail to see that we are truly at fault -

and when we are not at fault -

We fail to see that we are in desperate need of Salvation

When that happens - The Gospel at some level is just another option among many - Christmas is just the biggest holiday of the year, loosing its significance,

And Jesus just becomes one of many ways to God.

And we don’t end up with a true and real relationship with God who is in fact the Child in the manger.

Because we see all of the turmoil and suffering in the world and in our own life and we look for someone else to blame.

And the Story of Christmas -

The Arrival of Jesus. God taking on flesh and dwelling among us.

Begins with the truth being proclaimed that all of humanity, Every single one of us - since the very beginning, is and and has been and always will be in desperate need of a Savior.

And God from the very Beginning our our Need has promised this savior would arrive.

When we come to know that - The Way we view the world and all of the challenges to it changes -

and this good news not only becomes great news, it becomes the only news - and it becomes what and who we live for.

BACKGROUND

Genesis - Its it is called the Book of Beginnings - This is what the word Genesis means - Beginnings -

In Chapters 1-6 there are some pretty interesting things that are recorded for us in this narrative.

It is piece of literature that is a narrative - It is written in Narrative form.

Here is the Cool part about Genesis - or at least the first 6 chapters.

Weather you take this narrative as Historical narrative like I do or you read this narrative as allegoric or representative narrative -

The same exact Truth is proclaimed and it not only unveils for us the beginning of all things - It unveiled for us the beginning of the world view that God has -

In Chapter 3

IT reveals to us the desperate need we have for this savior in the manger - as it also reveals to us - The Love of God who would promise to provide this child to save us.

Watch what happens and listen to the narrative

UNPACKING

Genesis 3:1 ESV

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

So - Let me concede this - The Text says “Serpent” and most of us go directly to SNAKE

The Idea of a talking snake seems a little out of touch. But here is the reality.

Why a snake?

The reality is most if not all of us are afraid of Snakes - They are not our favorite animal - WHY?

Because they can hide from us by disguising themselves as the area around them -

They can and have tricked us.

WE really don think we can trust them

They seemingly can hurt us -

and there are a bunch of them that are deadly -

And they are very very crafty.

The reality that this narrative has a snake in it that represents the Enemy of God, the hater of God’s creation and the Oppressor of those who God loves clearly a reality of our world.

The father of lies - The deceiver - The one who hates -

The Scripture and the people of the Old Testament would understand the SERPENT represents Satan - The Devil - A fallen angel who rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven and the one for whom Hell was created so that one day He could be the recipient of Gods wrath.

So here in Chapter 3 there begins this Conversation between EVE - The Mother of all- the First woman created - and the SERPENT Devil.

And the Devil does what He normally does, he deceives - He begins his deception by Asking A question.

notice that the Devil does not propose a statement to Eve but rather asks a questions “Did God actually Say?

This is the first problem that woos us away from Jesus - and focuses us on blaming others.

Did God really say?

Now here is whats important - Watch Eves answer -

VVS 2&3

Genesis 3:2–3 ESV

2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”

Now that is not what God said:

Here is what God told Adam

Genesis 2:17 ESV

17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

God did not say you could not touch it. God’s only rule, His only commandment was “Don’t eat of it”

HE did not say you couldn't enjoy its Shade -

He did not say you could not lean against it and rest -

her said “You may NOT eat of it”

One rule - IT was a rule of protection -

It was a Rule that was to give and support and to empower LIFE -

Loved ones - Here me when I say this -

Every Rule or Commandment that God gives through His Scripture is never given to take anything away from us.

THAT is what the enemy Does-

It is the enemy that takes and destroys.

Every single one of the commands and prohibitions of God are Given as protection, Given to Give - Given to Support and Given to empower LIFE -

But watch what the Serpent does -

Genesis 3:4–5 ESV

4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

The very First thing the Enemy of Eve - The Hater of God and of Everything God did and Everything about God - does:

He accuses God of lying- and watch its not a direct accusation - He just lays out the possibility that God has said something untrue

“God has told you something is very possibly not true”

“You will not surely DIE”

And look - When We read this text and we place ourselves in the story of being the fly on the wall, watching the conversation on the tree leaf -

What we can all automatically assume that When God said - You shall not eat of it or you shall surely Die. We automatically think Physical Death.

Heart stops - Breathing stops - The Life Giving energy given by God taken back and the empty physical body left to rot in the ground.

We think - Physical Death.

Here is what it interesting to think about - When God said “you shall not eat of it or you will surely die” God was referring to Adam Being dead to Him - Relationally dead to Him. and God dead to Adam!

You see in many cultures and at some level including this one - When people break our boundaries of sensibilities moral behaviors - We can break fellowship with them and they become dead to us.

We don’t see them again - We don’t talk to them again - They are dead to us.

In Early Jewish culture - We see this - A betrayal happens and unforgivable thing happens and the perpetrator becomes Dead to to them -

They even tear their clothes and weep and morn the loss of the relationship.

You see this is what God was referring to when He says “You will SURELY DIE - You WILL SURELY DIE TO ME - YOU WILL BE DEAD TO ME - YOU WILL BREAK OUR RELATIONSHIP and what is worse I will become dead to you!

But what the Devil has done is He has used the Assumption that God was referring to Physical death and used it against Eve.

Then watch what the devil Does He comes right behind this accusation of Gods declaration and He back fills it with truth.

“When you eat of it you will be like God knowing Good and Evil”

Here is what is Important to grasp. First Everyone wants to be God- Second

It is not like Adam and Eve did not understand Right from Wrong - They certainly did.

IN the original language of the Old Testament - the word for Good is not limited to a sense of Morality - Meaning GOOD In a moral sense.

But one of the uses for the word used in the original text what is brought to us as Good also can often mean - Good in the sense it will accomplish the propose for which it is designed or created -

We hear this in the creation story - in Chapters one and Two.

God creates and He says IT IS GOOD - This is not Good in the Moral sense of being the opposite of Evil but rather God is declaring that it is Good and will do what I have designed it and purposed it for.

Adam and Eves knowledge of Good and Evil and becoming like God is they would not have the ability to determine Good in the sense of accomplishing what God had designed something for or Evil as in against God design or purposes.

We see this knowledge played out in our culture so relevantly today.

and So Eve who now has had an enemy say “Did God really say” with Adam right there the whole time watching and listening to this conversation.

Then Steps into the first and orginal sin and the one what is responsible for a majority of the rebellion against God in the world and in our own hearts and that is the Sin of Unbelief -

Also known as the Sin of Dis-trust.

Watch the progression

God says - Eat and Die

Devil says - No you wont.

Eve has this lingering doubt in her mind -

Turns to the Tree and watch - Her own reasoning that is now embedded with the doubts if God is telling the truth.

She turns to the fruit of the tree and..

Genesis 3:6 ESV

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Adam and Eve make a decision with their own reasoning that is filled with the doubt of the character and nature of Who God is - The Sin of Unbelief - The Sin of Untrust and they die Spiritually - They Become Spiritually dead - Dead to God and God was spiritually dead to them.

BUT WATCH -

God knew what had happened - God knew they had stopped trusting Him - God knew they were hiding -

Here is the Phenomenal part -

God could have never showed up again -

God could have never spoken again

In fact - God had given ONE SIMPLE COMMAND - A command for Life and they Chose not to trust God and God - Out of Him Being Just - Doing what is ultimately right and fair and Just -

What God could have done and would have been right and fair and just to do at that time was hit the delete button.

But that is not what God does -

What God does is HE Goes to His creation-

God shows up - Waling in the Garden of the Cool of the Day.

God also could have walked and said noting - God did not and does not need anything or anyone-

But watch what God does - God calls Adam from Hiding - You see many of us, trapped in the sin of Untrust - Hide from God who know us an loves us and is calling us to real life and calling us to life.

God calls Adam to life.

Where are you?

Now God knew the answer to that question. God was not blinded by the absence of Adam and Eve -

God knew what had happened - God did not abandon His creation -

Adam and Eve Respond to the voice of God -

We heard you in the Garden - We knew it was you - We did wrong in your sight and we are afraid of what will happen now - We are naked

This is something that we happen to take way too lightly-

We are afraid becasue we are naked - We can easily think - Adam and Eve suddenly knew good from evil and then the awareness of them being naked suddenly came upon them -

If we stop there - we are not understanding the fullness of what is happening here.

They are naked - They are afraid - The reason they are afraid in being naked is - They are vulnerable - You see God knew what happened - God knew what they had done - There was no hiding from God -

They new they had stopped trusting Him they new there were consequences they were going to face - They had chosen death and they were vulnerable. They were suddenly at Risk becasue of their own choices.

God again asks a question He already knows the answer to - Who told you that you were naked - Who told you that you were varnable?

Did you do what I told you not to do?

And What God was hoping would happen is that Adam would take responsibility for what had happened -

That Eve would stand up and say - I did this and Adam would stand up and say I did this too. I am responsible and I am responsible -

You know what God would have Done had they turned to Him and Surrendered all of themselves to Him including the doubt including the fear including the sense of being vulnerable?

God came seeking them! God already knew - God already saw - God was seeking them and God was calling them - from what we know of God if they would have taken responsibility, God would have forgiven them and taken it on the chin, absorbed his own wrath and walked with them once again.

But that is not what happened -

Watch -

They blame everyone else but themselves.

Adam blames Eve and Then Blames God for sending Eve as if God made a mistake in sending Eve.

Eve then blames the serpent - Eve says The serpent Deceived me -

She was deceived!

HOW?

becasue she let go of the words of God and clung to someone else words.

Here is what happened and we can see it in the text -

The first humans - Whether we think of them as two individuals called Adam and Eve or we think if them as allegoric of the first of humanity matters not at this point.

What Matters is what happens - They Broke their relationship with GOD.

and Look at what happens - That brokenness poured over into everything else including their relationship with one another.

A chapter and a half ago - Adam is looking at the perfection of his help mate that God had given to him and said “She is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh -

And now in the very presence of God with his personal relationship with God broken becasue of what HE did - He says “Its her fault” and “its your fault for giving her to me”

Ever since that day - All of the offspring of Adam and Eve - for generation after generation, have said to God in every way possible - It is not my fault - IT is your fault - and for generation after generation we have looked at each other and said “its your fault not mine”

BUT GOD -

In the midst of this brokenness - in the midst of this blame game -

in the midst of them turning against God and against each other -

In the midst of them bringing consequences down upon them selves and upon all of creation -

and in the midst of God delivering Judgement against His enemy and the Enemy of His people.

watch what God does -

God Says - I am going to FIX THIS - There are consequences for this that you have brought upon yourself BUT I am going to fix this -

Genesis 3:15 ESV

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

you see loves ones - Their relationship was broken -

They had no desire to fix it

they only had a desire to blame -

They needed a Savior -

And as the generational offspring of Adam and Eve -

WE need a savior!

and God promised a Savior would be given .

This savior is promised -

The Child in the manger is the Savior needed

The Child in the manger is savior promised.

This is what the Prophet Isaiah so beautifully articulated for us -

Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Amen?

THE GOSPEL CONNECTION

This morning you might be asking two questions about this Idea that A savior is needed and a savior is promised.

The First question is - I’m not Adam or eve - “Do I need a savior?”

Any glimpse of any honest look at our lives we can clearly see our one broken relationship with God that we are born into -

We so easily know when we have done song and we so easily look for someone else to blame.

We have clearly inherited the traits of our generational parents.

You see we are born into this broken relationship by nature and we break the relationship by choice.

All of us are in desperate need for this promised savior -

BUT Loved ones this is the promise of Christmas -

This is the Hope of Christmas -

This is the arrival of Christmas - The Savior in the Manger.

The Second question that you may have this morning is: How does this Child in the manger save anybody from anything? This is a baby?

How does this work? How does the baby fix anything for anybody?

We heard it this morning: Articulated by the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 53:1–12 ESV

1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

This is the Gospel - This is the promise of Christmas

This is what this season of Advent that leads us to Christmas is all about.

God Redeeming and saving a people to Himself.

Hear the Gospel - This scripture says!

Believe the Gospel - Trust in this GOOD NEWS that a Savior is born that all of creation needed

Trust in this savior that God has promised

and Repent - Turn away from our own self protection mechanisms of blaming others for the calamity of our world and surrender to Jesus - Let him life his life through you and be reconciled to God.

COMMUNION.

PRAYER TEAM