Make Ready for the King

Song of Zechariah

Luke 1:68–79 NIV

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 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, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Opening Worship Song

Advent Candle:

Reader one

Malachi 3:1–4 NIV

“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. 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. 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, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.

Reader Two

Luke 3:1–6 NIV

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— during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation.’ ”

THE FEAR OF HOME

Reader One: For many of us, the call to head home is one of joy and of hope. We can’t wait to reconnect with family, with history and tradition, with a wonderful time of freedom and loving support. We can’t wait to go home.

Reader Two: There are those who fear going home, however, and there are times when going home brings back memories that are not so good, not so healing. We are reminded of when we didn’t fit in, when we didn’t measure up, when we weren’t loved like we needed to be loved. Home can be a difficult place for some.

Reader One: The prophet Malachi tells us that even when we are in the hottest of fires, there is a presence who can make us better, who can refine and purify. John the Baptist tells us that the road home is always under construction, mountains leveled, and valleys filled in, to make smooth the path that leads us to our true destination, where we can live in peace and unity with all.

Reader Two: We light these candles, the candle of hope and the candle of peace, as a sign of our assurance that though the road is hard, we believe it is worth the journey. It is time to go home.

(Light two candles of the Advent wreath)

Worship Set

Philippians 1:3–11 NIV

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 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. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may 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.

Worship Song

Sermon Introduction:

Fire of Advent

Edward Hays is a Christian Writer who has written various books on the subject of prayer and worship. In his book “A Pilgrim’s Almanac” he wrote... Edward Hays, A Pilgrim’s Almanac, p. 187

"Advent, like its cousin Lent, is a season for prayer and reformation of our hearts. Since it comes at winter time, fire is a fitting sign to help us celebrate Advent…If Christ is to come more fully into our lives this Christmas, if God is to become really incarnate for us, then fire will have to be present in our prayer. Our worship and devotion will have to stoke the kind of fire in our souls that can truly change our hearts. Ours is a great responsibility not to waste this Advent time.”

Last week we celebrated the beginning of the Advent season. The theme for first Advent is that of “waiting.” However, we do not wait by sitting in our homes twiddling our thumbs awaiting Christ’s return. We are to be busy in the waiting, just as a squirrel is busy preparing for winter. We are to be busy with preparing for the Lord’s final coming.

Each of the scriptures read today have had something to do with preparation. Some address the thought of preparing while others speak about the need to “be prepared.”

In Malachi, the people are eager for God to come, but the messenger warns that they are not ready. They need to prepare themselves. In the Luke passages we find John the Baptist being sent to make His people ready for Christ’s first arrival and in Philippians, Paul shares his love for this church and his desire for them to be watchful and prepared for Christ’s return. Paul later addresses the things the Philippians need to do to get ready.

So, how do we prepare? 1 Peter is a good place for us to see what we need to do to prepare ourselves for Christ’s second coming. Please stand for the reading of God’s Word this morning.

1 Peter 1:10–2:3 NIV

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

The Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God.

Prayer

Sermon:

I. Make Ready for the King

Last week we read how God directed the Children of Israel in exile to bloom where they were planted. They were not to sit out their exile and just wait to live again when they returned home. They were to marry, have children, plant gardens and make a life for themselves where they were for the time being.

However, that did not mean they were to take on the ways of the foreigners among whom they lived. They were to marry, but not with the foreigners, but to marry among their own people. They were to continue to be God’s people in the midst of this foreign land.

Eventually, they were released and ready to come home some 50-60 years later. With much excitement, they returned to Jerusalem, but in time they became disillusioned. You see, they returned home with...

A. An Unhealthy Expectation (Malachi 3:1-4)

Their expectation was that they would return and all would be as it had been. Their “glory days” would be restored. There would be another king like David and they would experience peace and comfort. All the blessings they had known in the days of David. However, that is not what happened. They were unable to get the Temple rebuilt as quickly as they had hoped. Jerusalem was in shambles, far worse than they expected. And there were outside forces continually working to block their efforts to restore Zion.

By Malachi’s time, life in the Persian province of Yehud had undermined their enthusiasm through a wretched economy, high taxation, fiscal corruption, savage inequalities, and intermarriage with those who had lived in the land prior to the exiles’ return. The high hopes and glorious visions of a renewed Zion had cooled into disappointment, then drifted into carelessness and, perhaps, a sullen, generalized resentment.

(Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship: 1 . Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition. )

It is so easy to have wrong expectations and then when reality sets in, it leaves a bitter taste in our mouth. We just want to sit around and complain and hope that things will get better.

We are all guilty of this from time-to-time. Our emotions run ahead of us and produce “unhealthy expectations.”

Many have fallen away from the truth of Jesus Christ because they gave their lives to Him with the unhealthy expectation that they would never experience hardships again. God would just miraculously make their lives better than everyone else. Then the first time something difficult happens they blame God and want to give up.

At which point, God could reply, “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden.” :-) God has always been clear in His word that as Christians, we often struggle even more, because we are swimming up the stream of a different culture from us. (The Chosen)

When COVID began, many people (many of us here in this room) said, “I just cannot wait for things to get back to normal.” But things have not fully returned to normal yet, and there does not look to be anytime soon that we will. I would add that I am not sure we ever will fully return to the way things were before.

Just this past week or two we are hearing of yet another variant (omicron). I am losing touch on how many variants that is now. In the course of all this, we have gone through a presidential change that has touched off all kinds of other issues. We can easily name the same issues bothering us that bothered them then; a wretched economy, high taxation, fiscal corruption, savage inequalities...

Expectations are part of life and we cannot help but have expectation at times, but instead of sitting around complaining when our expectations are not realized, we need to turn to God to find His direction in our new reality. God is never taken by surprise. He never has false expectations. He has a plan and His plans include us. Such times as these open opportunities for us, God’s people, to speak into the lives of others around us as they too are unsettled by the changes. We (God’s people) have the ability to find peace in such times. That peace is found through focusing on God and discovering His plan. We do this by...

B. Understanding the Current Reality (Malachi 3:1-4)

The first of which is that we live in a fallen world. It is not the same world that God had created and looked at and pronounced “good.” Instead, it is a world cut off from the God who created it to be good. The very God that made it good. Now it is dominated by greed, hate, destruction, and death. So, we should not be taken by surprise when difficult times arise.

The second thing we need to remember in our current reality is that there is a set process that has to occur before God can fix it all. The peoples of Judah who had returned were upset with God for the situation they were in. If only He would come as He had said. He could then make everything right again. However, these people were out of touch with reality. You see, the issues that were responsible for their exile had not changed. They still were not living obedient to God. They were not ready for God to come. Malachi, helps them to see their “current reality” through the eyes of God.

For the most part, Malachi levels his charges at the temple priests. The main accusations indicate a lack of integrity in worship, caused by insincerity and bad faith. To these main charges, Malachi adds broader secondary charges, namely, the social disorders that, in his view, follow on a corrupted cult: sorcery, adultery, perjury, defrauding the weak, and rejecting the migrant.

(Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship: 1 . Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition. )

The truth was that they were not ready for God to come because when God comes, judgement comes. They could not at that moment, stand under God’s judgement. They were not ready.

We often speak of the joys of the second coming, but we do not like to talk about the judgement part. However, the judgement is a very important part and it is not only for the non-believer. God’s people will also face judgement. The question is will your ticket be stamped “Accepted/Saved” or “Rejected/Condemned.” Not every person who declares they are God’s chosen will pass. Look at Matthew 7:21-23.

Matthew 7:21–23 NIV

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

There are many who declare themselves Christian, who are not following God, but following their own path. Now I do not want you to think I am saying you cannot have assurance of your salvation. We do have that, if we are sincerely saved and living in obedience to God’s direction for our lives. This assurance is given us through the work of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:16

Romans 8:16 NIV

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

We have this assurance when we have fully yielded every aspect of our life to God. Unfortunately, there are some who have not done so. They work on God’s behalf and sometimes even do some good, however, they are working for God in the way they choose to do so, instead of seeking to find God’s path for them. (My observations)

But here is what you need to understand.

C. We are saved by faith, but it takes hard work to cross the finish line. Colossians 1:21-23

Colossians 1:21–23 (NIV)

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.

But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—

if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

The best analogy I ever heard on this was by showing the relevance through the history of Israel. God saved His people from Egypt, however, they had to work hard following God and trusting God until they crossed into the promised land. Many didn’t make it. They quickly lost faith. They grumbled, complained, and even blatantly disobeyed God. Even though God saved them from Egypt, they never crossed over into the promised land.

God has done the hard part. He has taken care of the part we are totally unable to do ourselves. He paid the penalty for our sins on the cross. Now we have work to do. We have to learn how to be citizens of heaven so we can live with God and never face judgement again.

Paul uses the analogy of a race.

1 Corinthians 9:24–27 NIV

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

So, we work hard, preparing ourselves to be citizens of heaven. We do this by growing in our relationship with God. This comes through the reading, study, and mediation of God’s Word. It comes through communing with Him in prayer. It comes through fellowship with other believers to help to encourage us and to spur us on as we need it. (Poke in the side or Cattle prod) ;-)

Conclusion:

When Jesus came the first time, John the Baptist was sent to prepare God’s people. They needed to clean house in preparation of Jesus coming. When Jesus comes, so comes judgement. Jesus pronounced His judgment upon the leaders (Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, etc…) of His people when He came. They did not pass the test. Why do you think they were so determined to get rid of Jesus? They were unable to stand under His judgement. They were unwilling to clean house if you will. God had been generous giving them plenty of time to make things right. But they didn’t. They had the prophecies pointing to Jesus soon appearance. They had John the Baptist who proved to be an Elijah of his time pointing to the fact that He was coming, and they still ignored it. And when He stood before them in the flesh, sharing with them how to change to satisfy God’s judgement, they still refused to listen.

Prophecy and current events point to the fact that the time of His second coming is drawing near. We too have been given a generous amount of time to make things right, yet the world is no better off now then it was then. We are still dealing with the same problems, the same unhealthy expectations.

There are many scriptures regarding God’s judgement beginning with the church. Look at 1 Peter 4:17-18 and his words about the second coming.

1 Peter 4:17–18 NIV

For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

And Hebrews 10:26-27

Hebrews 10:26–27 NIV

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

The church of today is full of people living together outside of marriage. Divorce is as common in the church as outside (sometimes even more due to higher expectations). There are those in the church advocating for abortion and gay rights. Many see nothing wrong with marrying an unbeliever. I really struggle with this one. I have seen the struggles of too many who have married unbelievers.

God’s people were told to not be unequally yoked. However, they constantly married outside their faith. It got them in to trouble all the time. This was one of the charges Malachi made to them in our text. It is no different for us. How can we obey God when we are bound to a nonbeliever. They do not understand or are not willing to allow us to do what we feel God calling us to do; give of our time, talents, or finances.

Romans 1:21-25 gives further warning.

Romans 1:21–25 NIV

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

I believe this judgement on the church is taking place even now. During COVID, many churches were unable to stand. I believe the reason was because they were not serving their purpose. They were focused on the wrong things.

I believe that if we sit back and think that we will just wait until things get back to normal, we are exhibiting an unhealthy expectation just as Judah did when they returned from their exile. We need to live in the current reality and see the signs around us and know that God is moving. It feels like evil is pressing ever more close around us, but that is because God is moving. Evil is escalating because its time is limited.

If we are to make it across the finish line, we need to prepare. We need to begin to live more disciplined lives now, because evil days will not decrease but increase in the days ahead. We need to learn the old disciplines that have too long gone by the wayside. Many may not even know of the disciplines I am talking about since the church has fallen so far away from many of these. Here is a list from Richard Foster’s awesome book Celebration of Discipline. He lumps them into three categories.

The Inward Disciplines:

Meditation

Prayer

Fasting

Study

The Outward Disciplines:

Simplicity

Solitude

Submission

Service

The Corporate Disciplines:

Confession

Worship

Guidance

Celebration

These will probably be a Sunday school subject in our near future. :-)

The word discipline makes us cringe because we have grown up in a society that does not like exercising discipline in their lives. They have sold us a bill of goods that discipline destroys happiness. However, healthy discipline actually gives freedom. Foster literally pens it, “A Door to Liberation.”

The key is living discipline guided by the Spirit and not by law. When we make the disciplines laws to become hoops through which we achieve salvation, we have just set ourselves back to the Jewish Law. The disciplines only serve us if they are guided internally by the Holy Spirit, not as a measuring stick to measure each other by, but as a means of personally growing in our ability to obey and serve God to the best of our personal ability.

This advent, as we look at the changes going on in our world, we need to begin the work of preparing to receive our King for the final time. When we live a life prepared for his coming, judgement is no longer a negative to face. Instead it is a promise. A promise of purification and a restoration to the covenantal relationship with God we were created to have. Then we find the peace that today’s advent candle represents.

God’s call establishes a people who may and must live justly, who lift and protect the lowly, who speak a larger wisdom through their laws than self-interested prudence, who maintain faith in marital promise (2:14–17), and, above all, who approach the living God with confidence and joy (4:2).

Too often the church these days has urged the love of God but forget God’s desire. God yearns for a just and righteous and faithful humanity; if we ignore that, then we offer a cheap grace that sides with those who see so little in human beings (i.e. another by product of evolution). Listening, therefore, to such words of judgment as Malachi’s reminds us of the blessing of God’s desire, the intent of holiness. The church, therefore, must seek the strange blessing in the words of God’s judgment, listening intently to this word that purifies and never flatters. When Christians accept God’s calling, it is good news for the world, because the church, when it is willing to bear God’s refining, represents the glory of humanity as it exists in God’s desire. In the end, of course, what sustains the church, and all human beings touched by God’s grace, lies beyond the words of judgment, in the faithfulness with which God shall complete the loving work of creation.

Paraphrased by me. (Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship: 1 . Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition).

Pray

In closing, I wish us to sing “Joy to the World.” But allow me to let you in on a secret. Though this is a popular Christmas song sang acknowledging Christ’s birth, it was actually written about the Millennial reign of Christ. So, it was actually written to celebrate the second coming. Since Advent is a time of acknowledging the first coming and looking ahead for the future coming, this is a perfect Advent song. So, please stand as we close with this popular Christmas hymn.

Joy to the World