Anticipation

Caroling Christ

Anticipation

Preparation

Incarnation

Celebration

Intro:

Anticipate Christmas

Shock Pen

Movies- actors that are going to be hit are not told when

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slap someone?

Anticipating Gifts on Christmas

#422

[Verse 1] O come, O come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear [Refrain] Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel

[Verse 2] O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan's tyranny From depths of hell Thy people save And give them victory o'er the grave

[Verse 3] O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death's dark shadows put to flight

[Verse 4] O come, Thou Key of David, come And open wide our heavenly home Make safe the way that leads on high And close the path to misery

Let’s look at the verses that this Carol primarily is referencing

Matthew 1:22–23 NASB95

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”

Which is a direct quote from Isaiah

Isaiah 9:6–7 NASB95

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

This passage EEKS/Oozes anticipation

Will be born

will be given

Will be called:

There Will be no end to the increase of His Government or of peace

Look at the things to look forward to:

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God

Eternal Father

Prince of Peace

A kingdom that will last forever

with a righteous and just ruler

Anticipate Freedom

[Verse 1] O come, O come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear

The nation of Israel lost it’s identity when they went into exile in Babylon, and again when they were conquered by Rome.

-We loose our identity when we aren’t in Christ .

But a new identity is found in Christ.

To ransom something is to pay the price to receive something back which was stolen from you.

Jesus paid the price to retrieve you from your captivity

He paid the price so that you can be free

No more need to mourn your past, your circumstance, your pain

you are no longer stuck where you are

The Son of God has appeared

He died and rose again, so that you might have life, and to life abundant.

[Verse 2] O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan's tyranny From depths of hell Thy people save And give them victory o'er the grave

Jesus has declared you his own

He longs to free you from Satan’s grip

Jesus conquered death for all men, for all time

-Through His victory, we are found victorious

1 Corinthians 15:55–57 NASB95

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus said himself that he came to fulfill prophecy of one sent by God to release the captives and set them free

Luke 4:17–21 NASB95

And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

-His mission becomes our mission when we anticipate His return.

Jesus came to seek and save the lost

Zaccheus:

Luke 19:1–10 NASB95

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Zaccheus was rich, but needed and longed for freedom, for Salvation.

Many of us might not be caught in the typical prisons of

addiction

depression

injustice

grief

However, many of us increasingly find themselves obsessed with the things of this world

to the point that you feel lost

nothing seems to matter

having something is never enough

you desire peace

you desire contentment

-Anticipation of freedom only comes true through the blood of Jesus.

It is only through the blood of Jesus that this anticipation of freedom can come to fruition

Anticipate Something New

Dread turns into anticipation when we submit to God.

[Verse 3] O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death's dark shadows put to flight

Dayspring definition

1. archaic : the beginning of day : dawn

2. : the beginning of a new era or order of things the dayspring of their youth.

Advent Definition

the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.

-The new thing is Christ’s kingdom has dawned.

The kingdom of God is at hand.

Jesus tells pilot about His Kingdom

John 18:33–37 NASB95

Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

Our Father, who is in heaven,

Your kingdom come, your will be done

On Earth as it is in heaven

-Following Christ means we become citizens of this new kingdom.

Citizenship means abandoning your previous allegiances

The old part of us is put to death with Him, and we are made new on the inside

2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB95

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Are you new, or are you desiring something new within yourself?

Have you been anticipating freedom

freedom from your past

freedom from you vice

freedom from the things that others have done to you

freedom from your own mind

freedom from your pain

Give your life to Christ right now

Lord Jesus, I come to you a sinner.

Forgive me of the sins I have committed.

I believe that you are the Son of God, the Saviour of the world.

I believe that You died on the cross for my sins

I believe that You rose from the dead the third day

Come into my heart, and make me new.

I receive You as my Lord and Saviour.

Now, help me to live for you the rest of this life.

Amen!

Anticipate Home

[Verse 4] O come, Thou Key of David, come And open wide our heavenly home Make safe the way that leads on high And close the path to misery

If home is where the heart is,

-Our home is with Christ when our heart is with God.

Abide in the vine

The nation of Israel was Anticipating a new kingdom under God

Daniel 7:13–14 NASB95

“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

To live is christ to die is gain

only comes when you identify heaven as your home

it only comes when you anticipate the gift that God has for you

This place is not our Home when we are in Christ

2 Corinthians 5:1 ESV

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

-We have been adopted into God’s family, and thus have a new home.

Galatians 4:4–7 NASB95

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

If we have been adopted, we move into the new home of our adopted father.

We call heaven home.

Our new home has new house rules

new expectations

We cannot continue to live like we did before we were adopted.

we will still face the consequences of sin and disobedience if we do

That way leads to misery

-A new home means new house rules.

Make a commitment right now to put those things from your past, the old self behind you

and to accept the new rules of your new home

to love others as you love yourself

to Love God with your whole heart, soul and mind

to consider others better than yourself

to forgive those who have wronged you

to forgive yourself

to live a life free from condemnation

to focus on the things that are lovely, true, honorable, pure, right

To live in Anticipation each day for what God is going to do

Anticipate freedom

celebrate freedom from your sin, and your past

anticipate the freedom of those you love as you share God’s love with them

Anticipate new things

God has a plan for your life, and it is exciting

plans to prosper you and not to harm you

to give you a hope and a future

This is the day that the Lord has made, so rejoice in it

Anticipate Home

This earth is not your home

you now have a heavenly father who has adopted you into his family

don’t find your validation in

what other people say,

the things you have,

or the things you do

Find your identity as a son or daughter of God

and live accordingly