Preparation & Expectation

OPENING

You officially have twenty-four days of shopping until Christmas. Don’t worry because we can shop online any time

According to the Washington Post, UPS will ship somewhere around 750 million packages this holiday season. They’ll do the work, and all we have to do is click and wait.

Gift-of-the-month clubs. For about $50 per month, you can sign your loved one up for the bacon-of-the-month.

A number of years ago, CNN told the story of Charles McKinley’s attempt at another approach to surprise and expectation by mail—which I wouldn’t recommend (show news photo)

He shipped himself in a crate from his home in New York to his parents’ home in Dallas

Christmas is certainly a time of waiting and expectation.

when he shipped himself in a crate from his home in New York to his parents’ home in Dallas

If we stop to think about it, we really shouldn’t be surprised that life is filled with so much more preparation and waiting than doing, because in some ways preparation is the doing

In fact, the best use of our time on earth is to prepare our hearts to become more like Jesus and to help other people get prepared to meet Jesus in heaven.

In fact, the best use of our time on earth is to prepare our hearts to become more like Jesus and to help other people get prepared to meet Jesus in heaven.

The primary point of the Old Testament is preparation for one moment

The time of waiting started after the fall of mankind

After Adam and Eve fell into sin. God declared to the serpent in…

Gen

Genesis 3:15 NIV

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Since then, people were waiting for a Savior

The law and all the temple sacrifices show our need for a Savior.

The slavery and sorrow of the Israelites point to the bondage we all face before we acknowledge His arrival

The prophets looked and longed for His coming

700 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Micah was inspired by God to look forward to His birthThe prophets looked and longed for His coming

Micah 5:2 NIV

2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

This prophecy of Micah was quoted in the gospel of Matthew

Matthew 2:6 NIV

6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Matthew 2

This prophecy in the OT and quotation in the NT rattled King Herod, he consulted the chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born… in Betlehem they replied!

Before we go further, let me give you some “Fact Check” about Micah… Who is Micah? and what is significance to the redemptive plan of God?

Micah is an Ephraimite (descendant of the tribe of Ephraim)

Micah is Prophet… What is a prophet?

God sent appointed messengers throughout history to warn and guide his people. We discover God’s first mention of a prophet in…

God sent appointed messengers throughout history to warn and guide his people. We discover God’s first mention of a prophet in

Deuteronomy 18:18–19 NIV

18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.

There are 4 Major and 12 Minor Prophets chosen by God

The word prophet defines someone who gives the declarations of God.

These men and women did not exist for their own glory but for the glory of God.

The Hebrew word for prophet is Nebi, which is derived from the verb action, “to bubble forth” like a fountain

Prophetic career of Micah was from 735-700BC

The book of Micah was written sometime around 700BC

The one from ancient times whom Micah wrote about has more than one hundred different names in the Bible.

He’s called the Alpha and the Omega, the Word of Life, the Bright Morning Star, the Light of the World, I Am, the Ancient of Days, Jesus.

His name Emmanuel means “God with us.”

And when Jesus arrived, He came humbly, quietly, in a small and forgotten town that didn’t even have a proper room for His arrival.

But let’s not allow the circumstances He chose to fulfill these prophecies confuse what child this is. He is the Ancient One, the Creator, the Author and Giver of Life, the Word of God.

For hundreds of years, the Israelites and the prophets looked to Him and waited for His rescue

Advent is the perfect time for us to wait and prepare.

As the prophets waited for Jesus’s arrival, we wait and prepare for His Second Coming

In some ways we know what Micah, Isaiah, Moses, and so many who looked for Jesus went through.

Like them, we know Jesus is coming again, and we don’t know when.

Like them, we need to prepare our hearts to receive and grow in Him now as we anticipate the day when we will meet Him face-to-face

PREPARATION INCREASES WITH EXPECTATION

The more expectant we are, the more prepared we would like to be

Story of China hosting the 2008 Olympics

When the Chinese were getting ready to host the 2008 Olympics, they had the vision and expectation to show the entire world that they had become a world power

When the Chinese were getting ready to host the 2008 Olympics, they had the vision and expectation to show the entire world that they had become a world power

By 2007, China had built a new National Stadium, a new National Swimming Center, a new shooting range, a new cycling velodrome, a new National Tennis Center, and a new National Hockey Stadium

China used more than fifteen thousand performers for the opening ceremonies

That group lived and prepared together in an army camp for three solid months, and they practiced for sixteen hours every day.

Performers were given diapers to wear during rehearsals so they didn’t have to take breaks

PREPARATIONS BEGINS WITH REPENTANCE

You might say that John the Baptist was the last prophet who had to wait for Jesus’s first arrival. He shows us how to prepare our hearts for Jesus in our lives now and how to prepare our hearts for Jesus’s return.

Matthew 3:2 NIV

2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Repentance in its simplest definition means “to turn.” So, John isn’t calling out, “You all better start feeling really guilty for all the things you’ve done.”

He’s not saying, “I want you to feel really bad.”

Understand that repentance certainly can begin with feeling really bad.

But what John is saying is, “Change your approach. Reconsider how you think about things, and begin to think and act differently.”

The story of a clerk and customer who bought a “chainsaw”

Despite the vast array of Old Testament prophecies describing the birth, life, death, and purpose of the Messiah, there was at least one idea that caused the vast majority of the religious leaders to miss the gift when it came

When they looked for salvation, they weren’t really thinking about their need for salvation from sin.

Instead, they were looking for salvation from foreign rule and oppressive government

Let’s not make the same mistake. Let’s remember that we are in desperate need of a Savior

Question: What can you do today to take up a posture of faith and genuine repentance?

REPENTANCE BEGINS WITH CONFESSION

When John was calling for people to repent, they respond by making their confession towards salvation

After the gospel of Matthew described what John wears, and what he eats, it says…

Matthew 3:5–6 NIV

5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

Matthew 3:5-6

Question: When was the last time you confessed your sins? How did your confession helped you to repent from those sins? Is there a sin that you need to confess right now?

REPENTANCE PLUS CONFESSION EQUALS PRODUCING FRUITS

Matthew 3:8 NIV

8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

There is one test that demonstrates whether or not you or another person has repented: your behavior will change.

If a person commits a sin against you, apologizes, and then does the same thing again, has she really repented?

We are not talking about forgiveness here. Forgiveness is found in the strength of the cross, not the strength of our apologies or will

We are talking about repentance.

Now I’m sure your friend who apologized felt truly sorry. I believe that she intended not to continue in that sin.

However, the fruit of her life shows whether or not she’s had a change of heart.

In the same way, the fruit of our lives shows our preparation through repentance.

Sometimes the change is incremental, and it takes time until it’s complete.

But if you aren’t walking away from the sin, you haven’t repented of the sin

I think the difference between feeling sorry and repenting is found in understanding how ugly and damaging the sin really is.

We’re sorry, but the habit we’ve built is stronger than our repulsion to the sin.

That’s why people often have to hit rock bottom before they can turn around

We have to see the real impact and ugliness of the sin. Its ugliness has to become great enough for us to say, “I’ll do whatever it takes to never go there again”

Lord God, please help me and show me where I can go and what I can do to turn my back on it and to be free of it.”

Our sincerity is proven in the way we live, the help we seek, the prayers we offer, and the choices we make.

Do you want to know if you’re preparing for Christ’s arrival?

Do you want proof that you are getting ready for Advent?

Just answer this question: “Is my life bearing fruit?” That’s not the test for whether or not you’ll be saved. The test for your salvation is found in

Romans 10:9 NIV

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

John 3:16 NIV

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The test for a heart that is active in its preparation to meet Jesus is the test of whether or not we see evidence of fruit in our lives.

There are all sorts of varieties of spiritual fruit: increased service, a closer relationship with God, a greater ability to encourage or care for others, a stronger family life, victory over sin, greater peace, deeper love.

Think of your life three or four Christmases ago.

Do you have more fruit in your life?

If so, keep going. You’re getting ready. You are effectively preparing.

If not, it’s not too late to start bearing fruit. Repent of complacency, religion, or anything else holding you back.

Draw near to Him in expectancy, and look for ways to fruitfully live out your faith.

Christmas is coming. The Second Advent is coming. In our expectation, let’s get prepared.

Question: What fruit in your life can you directly relate to a time when you were genuinely repentant? How could genuine repentance in our church impact our city? Impact the world?

EXPECTED RESCUE

The promise Malachi and all the other prophets clung to was that they would be rescued.

It’s so important that we remember our preparation is not our salvation nor is it our rescue.

Rather, our preparation is our response to what Jesus has already done for us and in us.

CLOSING