The Light is Upon Us!

Advent  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  1:06:49
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Ah the fourth Sunday of Advent. Our waiting is almost complete. The light of the world is indeed coming, and we know that his coming is near.
Are we prepared? Are we ready? Last minute preparations abound. How’s my heart? How’s my soul? How’s my thought life? Am I focused or am I scatter brained - for most of us, we’re scattered at this point.
It’s time to begin our focus.
Let’s pray:
Most Holy, Righteous, and Sovereign God, draw us to you this day. Let the busy-ness of this season fall away as we focus upon you. We are waiting.
Your return is soon, we anticipate it. Our excitement is increasing as we imagine your glory. Our minds are distracted by the preparations of the season. We are waiting.
In this hour of worship, Father. Break through the noise of the season, lift us above the fray of distractions to see your light. We are waiting.
Come Lord, Jesus! Come Lord, Jesus! Come Lord, Jesus.
Now Lord open our hearts for the reading of your word, our ears to listen, and our minds to understand. We pray this in the Name that is above all Names, Jesus. AMEN.
Our Old Testament Reading this morning comes from 2 Samuel 7:1-11
2 Samuel 7:1–11 ESV
Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” ’ Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.
And our New Testament Reading comes from Luke 1:26-38.
Luke 1:26–38 ESV
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
May the Lord God bless to our understanding this reading from His Holy Word. AMEN.

The Light Is Upon Us!

There is a lot there. There is a lot in these two passages. I want to focus on some aspects of them, that I think will help us in our preparation for Jesus coming.
The first is from our Old Testament Reading. As we read that passage from 2 Samuel, we see King David wanting to build a permanent structure for the Lord to live in, so to speak. Up until that time the sanctuary was a tent that had been moved every time the Israelites moved. And if you follow the Old Testament from the time of Moses, and the journey of the Israelites, you see the building of this tent, and all of its specifications.
That tent was where God lived. And in so many people’s minds that’s true for us today.
A story one of my mentors liked to share with me was when a child, about 5, and his mother came to visit him at the church during the middle of the week. At one point the mother had gone into his secretary’s office to talk for a bit and they got involved in a conversation. She then realized she didn’t know where her child was, and she called out to him, “Sammy? Where are you?” His response was priceless.
“Oh, I’m out here talking to God.” He was talking to the pastor. In his mind, the church was where God lived, and since this man was the one in the pulpit each Sunday he must be God.
We laugh, and notice the language in vs. 11 of 2 Samuel 7, right there at the end.
We read:
2 Samuel 7:11 ESV
from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.
“The Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.”
Now as the passage continues we begin to understand that from David’s lineage a Kingdom will be established, an eternal Kingdom. This is a foretelling of the coming of Christ. This is one of the promises God made and we see it again when we see the lineage of Jesus retold in Matthew and Luke, tracing it back to David and all the way back to Abraham, and in Luke to Adam and God Himself!
Yet there is a sort of double thought in this sentence we’re looking at.
“The Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.”
What word are we emphasizing? “…will make you a HOUSE!” meaning God will establish a place for David to reside? OR, “…will make YOU a house!” meaning God will establish within David and his lineage a place for God to reside?
And then we get to our passage today, and we read these words from Lk 1:31-33.
Luke 1:31–33 ESV
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
She’s going to have a son, but not just any son. No, she is to have the Son of God! (v. 35).
God Himself, Jesus, will come to reside in her - literally.
This is fulfillment of everything that has been said before. This is not revisionist history, this is not the rewriting of facts to suit our own conclusions. Mary is told that she, a young woman is going to carry the Son of God in her body.
Is that not one of the most incredible statements you’ve ever heard?
And as proof, the Angel speaking to her says, “Your relative Elizabeth, who was called barren is in her sixth month of pregnancy as she has conceived a son in her old age.”
Now some of you might remember the promises of God In our CASKET EMPTY series. Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was barren. Yet she was promised a son, and she bore Isaac. Isaac’s wife Rebekah was barren, and she too is promised a son. And throughout there was this whole idea of promise. God is fulfilling his promises.
Elizabeth would bear John - whom we call John the Baptizer, and Mary will now bear God’s Son Jesus.

God’s Promise

Now throughout the history of Creation there had been this promise that there would be a Savior, a Messiah, a Holy One that would come and rescue the people of Israel from their plight. This was the history that would be recalled through every feast and festival, and every sacrifice offered at the temple.
Mary would have been taught at her mother’s side in the home, and around the family table. She no doubt knew the stories.
Yet, when we think about it the promise is overwhelming. Especially when the focus becomes on you, one person; you alone.
Imagine, you’re engaged to be married. That’s an exciting time in anyone’s life and in the life of their families. You’re religious and you do your best to do the right things. And suddenly Gabriel visits you in your little town.
Luke 1:28 ESV
And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”
“Greetings, o favored one, the Lord is with you!”
Our passage says she was “troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.”
I would imagine that is perhaps the greatest understatement in this passage.
I would think she was FREAKED OUT! It’s not like angels appearing is a regular occurence in people’s lives. People talk about seeing the angel of death when they’re about to die, perhaps she wondered if that is what was happening. Did she hide? Did she run? The Bible doesn’t say. IT does however say the angel Gabriel explained a bit more.
Luke 1:30 ESV
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Okay, this is sounding better, she might have thought.
“And behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Um…okay, she might have thought. I know that Joseph is of the line of David and I am too. so this is good news. But…how I am I to have a child, we’re not married nor have we been together yet?
That’s a very practical question. It’s an innocent question. It’s a profound question.
Luke 1:35 ESV
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
Okay, time to return to FREAK OUT mode, right? Nah, look at what Mary does, vs. 38.
Luke 1:38 ESV
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
In other words, Mary says, “Ok.” “I accept.” “Sure. I will raise the savior of the whole world.”
How can she say that? How can she simply say, “Let it be to me according to your word”?
I don’t think we really understand until we get to her song of Praise that Luke records in verses 46-56 of the first chapter. If you have a study Bible at home I encourage you to go and look up all the cross references that occur in this passage. She quotes from Hannah’s prayer, from Psalms 35, 72, 75, 98, 103, 106, 107, 113, 118, and more. She pull phrases from Genesis, Deuteronomy, 1 & 2 Samuel, Job, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and minor prophets like Micah, Habakkuk, and Zechariah.
Listen to her song of praise:
Luke 1:46–56 ESV
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

The Light Is Upon Us!

As we get ever closer to the day of celebrating Jesus birth and anticipating Jesus return the light grows ever brighter. Our view of our world in contrast to God’s word becomes ever more evident.
This week in our Advent devotions we read from Habakkuk 1:1-5, I wan to quickly look at that as we wrap up this morning.
Habakkuk 1:1–4 ESV
The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.
During our Thursday Night bible study one person pointed out how appropriate this was for what we’ve been experiencing this past year. But notice the hope we get as I read the verse that follows.
Habakkuk 1:5 ESV
“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.
Habakkuk gives his readers a sense of anticipation. what is it that will cause us to wonder and be astounded, that we would not believe if we were told?
For too many it is the Gospel message. It is the story of God coming to earth, not as a dominant conqueror and King to enforce his righteous Law, but as a dependent, needy, baby.
That’s what we celebrate this time of year, going into Christmas. Yet as Christians we do more than celebrate; we anticipate.

The Light Is Upon Us!

We know as Christians that Jesus not only was born, grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God an men; was arrested, tried, scorged, crucified, and died for our sins. He was placed in a tomb, and 3 days later he rose again.
Not only was he born - he lived
Not only did he live - he died.
Not only did he die - he rose.
Not only did he rise - he promised his return.
The light is shining on us and in us. I want to encourage you this season, especially after the year we’ve had and all the physical distancing we’ve had to do:
Look into yourself, what have you done well. Celebrate that.
Look out to others, where do you see wounds you may have caused, intentionally or unintentionally. Confess that, and make amends.
Look to God: Where have you seen God working in your life this year? In you? Around you? Through you? Celebrate that
Jesus, the light of the World is Coming. He is coming soon.
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Let’s pray.
God we await your return. You’re coming, we know. May we be ready and help others to know to be ready as well. Fill us with your grace and love; fill us with your peace and strength; shine through us your light to all around that we all might wait with anticipation and hope. AMEN.
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