The Lord is Coming - Prepare the Way

The Lord is Coming – Prepare the Way – Return Friends, today is our second observation of Advent for 2018. It is the time of the year where we focus specifically on the coming of Christ Jesus into the world. As you know Scripture tells us that there will be 2 Advents. The 1st occurred already when Jesus came in the flesh with His birth in Bethlehem – almost 2000 years ago; and the 2nd will be when He returns in glory to take those who belong to Him to be with Him unto eternity. I would like to remind you what whatever we have to know about these advents are given to us in Scripture. So, all I should do or can do is sharing with you what Scripture has to say about this topic. Now, I know that from a human perspective, the Bible is a book of paradoxes. We often find it difficult to understand. It says, for example, that if we really want to have life, we must first lose it (Matthew 10:39). If we want to understand authority, we must first become a servant (Matthew 20:26–27). If we want to get ahead in life, we must first humble ourselves (1 Peter 5:6). But this paradoxical character of Scripture doesn’t mean that we have an excuse not to listen to it. I’d suggest to you that the opposite is rather the case. Because of its paradoxical nature we need to listen so much are attentive and study so much more diligently. We are going to listen 4 Scripture passages. The First is an OLD TESTAMENT READING: Malachi 3:1–7 (NIV84) 1 “See, 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. 5 “So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. 6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ In my preparations for today’s worship service I read something that Debora Block wrote about Malachi. She said: “Years ago, I heard Elie Weisel, the Jewish writer and Nobel Prize winner, recall a childhood story. When he was a boy, his mother would greet him every day when he returned from school. Every day she would ask him the same question. She did not ask, ‘What did you do today?’ or ‘Whom did you talk to today?’ or even ‘What did you learn today?’ She would ask, ‘Did you have a good question today?’ The name Malachi means “my messenger”. Malachi exposes us to good questions about God’s Advent. Sometimes life can be so harsh and our expectations so far from being met that the ungodly come to deny outright the providence of God in the affairs of men and women. Such seemed to be the mindset of the distraught Jews of Malachi’s day. To their way of thinking, the prosperity of the nation and her people were long overdue! They thought that they were good people. So, their complaints had grown to epic proportions. Their words were a direct attack on God’s person. They were hoping that “the Day of the Lord” would come soon, not realizing what a terrible day it would be for the whole earth. His listeners were like the people in the days of Amos the prophet who had the same false confidence that they were ready for the promised “Day of the Lord.” Amos warned them, “Woe to you who long for the Day of the Lord! Why do you long for the Day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light” (Amos 5:18–20). The image is that of people preparing a way for the king to come, levelling the roads and removing the obstacles so that the king might enjoy an easy and comfortable trip. John prepared the way for the ministry of Jesus by preaching the Word to the crowds, urging them to repent of their sins, baptizing them, and then introducing them to Jesus. In Malachi’s day the people were unprepared. They were content living life their own way, focusing on their own things. Like us they lived in a world where everything revolves around self – protect yourself, promote yourself, preserve yourself, entertain yourself, comfort yourself, take care of yourself. Malachi had some good questions for his day. How has God loved us? (1:2) “Has not one God created us?” (2:10) “Where is the God of justice?” (2:17) How shall we return to God? (3:7) Malachi poses twenty-two questions in just fifty-five verses. God’s questions to the priests and the people are articulated; their responses to God are anticipated. The answer to “Where is the God of justice?” was simply Maranatha, “The Lord comes!” (1 Corinthians 16:22). The God of justice whom men claimed they sought was the “LORD, whom you seek” (3:1b). He was “the Messenger of the covenant” (3:1c), the owner of the temple. He “will suddenly come to His temple” (3:1c). In our passage God’s messenger [Malachi] are told about another messenger that God would send to His people. The messenger referred to in this statement is John the Baptist. The Old Testament prophets foretold the coming of Christ (Malachi 3:1–7), as did Zechariah in the New Testament (Luke 1:68–79) and John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the Lord (Luke 3:1–6). There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came as a witness, that he might bear witness of that light. He was not that light but came that he might testify of the light.” By what God, then, was John, the forerunner who testifies of the light, sent into the world? Truly it was by him of whom Gabriel is the angel, who also announced glad tidings of his birth: that God who also had promised by the prophets that he would send his messenger before the face of his Son, who should prepare his way, that is, that he should bear witness of that light in the spirit and power of Elijah. Speaking of John the Baptist, Jesus said: “This is the one about whom it is written: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’” Matthew 11:10 (NIV84) God’s messenger prepares for Jesus’s first and second coming by “clearing the way before the LORD.” Levelling the road and straightening out the path are metaphors for the necessary preparatory spiritual work of repentance and faith. When the Day of the Lord arrives, the Malachi warns, all will be found guilty and all will be deserving of punishment. In particular, in verse 5, the prophet warns that God’s swift judgment will be executed upon the perpetrators of social injustice. But how does this answer the question, “Where is God’s justice for His people?” When Jesus Christ came and died on the cross, He completely satisfied the justice of God. He paid the penalty for the sins of the world and vindicated the holiness of God. Nobody can ever truthfully say, “God isn’t just!” The cross of Christ is proof that the same God who ordained “the law of sin and death” willingly died for sinners. The Messiah’s second coming will be sudden and unexpected, and its purpose will be the judging of sinners and the establishing of His kingdom on earth. The same Christ who did all this will hereafter stand before us as our judge. Certainly, the prophets did not pass over this but foretold it. Some saw him in that very form in which he would stand before us; others predicted this only in words. Now listen with me to Luke 1:68–79 the Song of Zechariah (NIV84): 68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), 71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— 72 to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” Listen also to Luke 3:1–6 (NIV84) 1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’ ” Zechariah thought that God would rescue his people from the hands of the oppressors in Israel. Luke shows how God has in mind to carry out this promise to his people. Zechariah knew the purpose of God’s rescue—so that people might truly serve him. Our purpose should be as true as Zechariah’s—to serve God both in our worship of him and in our daily obedience! Friends, it is wholesome to apply the song to ourselves and ask how far we have participated in these great blessings. Are we experiencing this daily salvation from our spiritual enemies who hate us? Do we serve God without the slavish fear of the serf, and with the loyal allegiance of the child? Are all our days characterized by holiness toward God and righteousness toward man? Has the “dayspring from on high” visited our hearts, and are our feet walking in the way of peace? As Zechariah looked at his baby son, so full of potential and promise, could he see what John would become—how John would challenge Roman immorality, how John would die in prison? No, Zechariah could see none of that—only John’s little life to be blessed and used by God. Every Christian parent can echo Zechariah’s dreams. Before Jesus comes again, many prophets (preachers, teachers, enablers) will tell the world about God’s salvation. Will your child endure hardship along the way? Don’t worry, God is in control. Pray that your child will prepare the way of the Lord, helping many find God’s mercy and eternal life. Powerful religious and political leaders like Pilate, Annas, and Caiaphas ruled in Palestine, but they were upstaged by a desert prophet from rural Judea. God chose to speak through the loner, John the Baptist, who has gone down in history as greater than any of the rulers of his day. How often people judge others by the superficial standards of power, wealth, and beauty, and miss the truly great people through whom God works! Greatness is measured not by what a person has but by his or her faith in God. Like John, give yourself entirely to God, so that his power can work through you. John the Baptist’s message was very clear to the people of his day: you are heading the wrong way, and if you don’t do a “180,” you will meet with disaster. There was very little concern for subtlety or social protocol in John’s preaching. He let people know in no uncertain terms that if they continued on their present course, no matter how well or how skilfully they proceeded, they were on a collision course with judgment. John called for true repentance—nothing less than a complete change of mind, heart, and behaviour, the kind of radical change that only God can enable. Have you experienced this kind of change in your life? Do you need to repent of anything—actions, thoughts, attitudes, omissions—now? You see, this is why it is so important that we observe Advent. It is an opportunity from God to make sure that we are heading the right way. And if we are not, it is a call to turn around, to get back on the track that He has carved out for us. What motivates your faith—fear of the future, or a desire to be a better person in a better world? Some people wanted to be baptized by John so they could escape eternal punishment, but they didn’t turn to God for salvation. John had harsh words for such people. He knew that God values reformation above ritual. Is your faith motivated by a desire for a new, changed life, or is it only like a vaccination or insurance policy against possible disaster? Friends, the purpose of Advent is not to fill us with fear, but to fill us with joy. Advent reminds us that when we have Jesus the future is not bleak but breath-taking. We don’t wait for Jesus’ second coming with fear and trepidation. No, we are looking forward to it with boisterous anticipation. This is what Paul conveyed in Philippians 1:3–11 (NIV84) 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. When Paul prayed for the Philippians, he thanked God for them, and he prayed with joy. This is the first of many times that Paul used the word “joy” in this letter. The focus on joy sets this letter apart from all of Paul’s other letters; the word “joy” (in its various forms: joy, rejoice) is found fourteen times in this short epistle (see the chart on page 14). Coming from an itinerant preacher imprisoned for his faith, joy would be the last attitude one would expect. Paul had joy despite his imprisonment and the uncertain decision on his case. Paul’s life was on the line, yet he could rejoice and encourage others. What should you and I be thankful for this Advent? I think that we should be thankful that God Who Begins a Good Work in Us Will Complete It. We should we thankful that He teaches us to be modest. We should be thankful that God creates memories for us to latch onto so that we can remember what He has done for us and why we can live thankful lives. Assemble a group of old classmates, or army buddies, or teammates, and memories become so vivid you can almost reach out and touch them. Paul hinted that such memories can put new energy into prayer. Try this: • Today when a bank clerk reminds you of a friend from long ago, pause for a moment to pray. • When a teenage on a push bike reminds you of a grandchild, take a minute to pray. • When a song reminds you of an old boyfriend or girlfriend, pray for that person you once couldn’t get out of your mind. • When a different dialect jogs your memory of a foreign friend, pray for Christians in his or her country (and for your friend too). Friends, most us have memories of good things that we’ve experienced throughout life. Advent and Christmas is often a time of reminiscing. Let your memories, good and bad, spark the engine of prayer in you. And if they are still alive and close by let them know that you thank God when you think of them. Paul had always found the Philippians to be immovable in their devotion to God. He knew how straight and unwearied their course was. He knew they were worthy to share in his own joy. People who share the same faith have good reason to rejoice together in the hope of future immortality and glory. Paul wishes, with God’s assistance, to pour into them pure Christian doctrine, that their faith will be firm and that they will see clearly all the vast implications of their faith. He wants them to be able to distinguish what is useful from what is useless. He prays that they may adorn the teaching of the Lord with works of righteousness, producing the fruit of immortality to bring about an abundance of good things. This will be the glory of the apostle to the Gentiles. Malachi has some good questions for our day. His very use of questions as a means of prophetic revelation counters the unthinking certitude of much so-called religious conviction. “Who can endure the day of his coming?” (3:2) Who will be “pure and blameless” in the day of Christ? (Philippians 1:10) Who will prepare the way by repentance and forgiveness? (Luke 3:1–6) Advent questions! Advent questions questioning our worthiness, readiness, and willingness for Christ’s coming. “The descendants of Levi” are called to new “integrity and uprightness,” a turning “from iniquity,” and a renewed “reverence” for God’s “covenant of life and well-being” with us (Malachi 2:5–6). Like the ancient priesthood, the contemporary priesthood of believers must open its life to the refining presence of God and offers its life in righteous practice. Are you prepared to do this? Amen. Enjoy these gifts! Keep your faith uncontaminated! Present the fruit of righteousness to God, so that God will be celebrated by all.