Prepare The Way
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
As we begin our message today on the second Sunday in Advent, our theme is Peace. I want to share with you a vide3o from our friends at Bible Project. I encourage you all to watch these videos more than once, as there is a lot of information packed into these short videos. You can find them at Bible Project.com.
Here we go.
Play BibleProject.com Advent Video on peace.
What if your name literally meant what you were?
What if your name meant what and who you were?
What if your name meant who you were?
That is the reality for Malachi who’s name means “my messenger” or perhaps even “Messenger of the Lord” if Malachi is a shortened form of Malachiah. We get the name of the book from the opening verse:
The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.
Some scholars suggest that “Malachi” ought to be understood as a title, “my messenger.”
500 years BCE - Before the Common Era this writing is recorded to the people of Israel. It foretells a forerunner of the Messiah, one who will announce the messenger of the covenant, the refiner and purifier.
In our call to worship this morning, we had the words of blessing pronounced over John by his father Zechariah. Listen to those words again, and imagine hearing this blessing pronounced over you, and being reminded of it throughout your life:
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
500 years prior, it was spoken of the coming of a messenger of the Messiah. In Luke we read again of John the Baptist hearing he would be the messenger. Now the time is here. He is the one who will announce the coming of the One who will bring wholeness and completeness to the people. We translate it as peace.
More than 2000 years after John heard this blessing spoken over him, some 60 years later Paul penned these words from prison to the church in Philippi:
Philippians 1:3–11 (ESV)
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
I want to focus on one specific verse there for a moment, Paul’s prayer for the people in Philippi,
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Let me put that in the words of the shalom, what we often refer to as peace:
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to fullness, completeness, shalom at the day of Christ.
Why? He reminds them they are all partakers of grace.
In this season of Advent, and in just about anytime during the year what we really long for is that sense of peace, the calm, the wholeness that is spoken about in the Scriptures.
People think, If I just…:
had that new car
got that promotion
had more money
had a better relationship with my spouse, children, family
The peace they are seeking is not going to be fulfilled by anything external. It’s not going to be filled by wealth, status, family, it’s something we were created for.
It is the peace of Shalom - wholeness, completeness.
When we think of the Shalom or ereinei in the Greek that is the word used in Phil 4:7
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Let’s put the verse in context. It comes from one of the more famous parts of this prison letter from Paul - Phil 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
It is our full recognition that the Lord is here,
at hand,
present with us
that returns us to the sense of completeness that we’re looking for.
In closing I want to return to Zechariah’s blessing over John where he says:
Lk 1:76-79
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Prepare The Way
Prepare The Way
As you and I make our journey through this Advent Season, may we go before the Lord and prepare people to hear His message to their heart.
In what ways can understanding the concept of 'Shalom' change our daily pursuit of peace in our lives?
How does recognizing ourselves as partakers of grace influence our relationships with others?
How can we evaluate whether we are seeking peace in external circumstances rather than in our relationship with God?
What is one area of your life where you are seeking peace, and how can you apply today's message to that situation?