The Second Sunday in Advent
\nDecember 6, 2015
\nLuke 3:1-6<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar\u2014when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene\u2014during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.\u00a0 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.\u00a0 As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:\u00a0 “\u2019A voice of one calling in the desert, prepare the way for the LORD, make straight paths for him.\u00a0 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.\u00a0 The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.\u00a0 And all mankind will see God’s salvation.\u2019\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 (NIV1984)<\/p>\n Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,<\/p>\n Have you ever listened as someone scraped their fingernails across a blackboard?\u00a0 For some people listening to the sound of fingernails slowly scraping across a blackboard borders on unbearable.\u00a0 They cover their ears.\u00a0 They cringe.\u00a0 They may even yell\u2014 \u201cCut that out!\u201d\u00a0 Have you ever heard a small child say their bedtime prayers?\u00a0 Their sweet little voice saying, \u201cNow I lay me down to sleep\u2026\u201d reveals to us what an angel might sound like.\u00a0\u00a0 Have you ever heard little children singing \u201cAway in a Manger\u201d?\u00a0 Every time I have the privilege of hearing something like that I think to myself, \u201cAh, this is what it is going to be like in heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n There are certain things that we do not enjoy listening to and then there are certain things that we look forward to listening to over and over again.<\/p>\n As we turn our attention to this portion of Luke chapter 3, we have the opportunity to listen\u2014 to listen to the Advent message of John the Baptist.\u00a0 Now, just as listening to the sound of fingernails scraping across a blackboard can be both difficult and unpleasant, so also there is a part of the Advent message of John the Baptist can be difficult and unpleasant to listen to.\u00a0 And yet, just as the sound of a little child saying their bedtime prayers or singing \u201cAway in a Manger\u201d is like sweet music to our ears, so also there is a part of the Advent message of John that is pure sweetness to our soul.<\/p>\n This morning then as we continue our sermon series entitled Advent Imperatives<\/em><\/strong> we are going to study our text by focusing on the imperative:\u00a0 Listen!<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 There are two things we need to listen to today.\u00a0 First, let\u2019s listen to John\u2019s proclamation of God\u2019s powerful holy Law.\u00a0 Then, let\u2019s listen to John\u2019s proclamation of the sweet message of the Gospel.<\/p>\n Luke begins our text for today by giving us the historical setting in which John the Baptist lived and worked.\u00a0 He writes, \u201cIn the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar\u2014 when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene\u2014 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.\u00a0 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The people of Luke\u2019s day and age were literally surrounded by all kinds of gods and all kinds of belief systems\u2014 all of which were based purely on myths and on fables and on the imaginations of mortal men.\u00a0 As a physician Luke was a man who was accustomed to precision, to accuracy and to detail.\u00a0 That mindset is revealed both in Luke\u2019s familiar account of the birth of Jesus (In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree\u2026.<\/em>) as well as here in Luke\u2019s account of the ministry of John the Baptist.\u00a0 All of the historical details that Luke emphasizes here in our text are designed to focus Luke\u2019s readers on the fact<\/u> that Christianity is a religion that is based upon real<\/u> people and real<\/u> events which can be documented in history.\u00a0 The apostle Peter emphasizes that same truth when he writes, \u201cWe did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty\u201d <\/em>(2 Peter 1:16).<\/p>\n After giving us the names of the main individuals who were filling both the religious and political posts at that particular point in history, Luke then reveals to us an extremely important detail when he very simply says, \u201cthe word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 The message that John the Baptist proclaimed what not<\/u> a message that John simply \u201ccame up with\u201d on his own!\u00a0 No, my friends, the message that John the Baptist proclaimed was a message that was given<\/u> to him by the Lord God Himself.\u00a0 In fact, the message that John the Baptist proclaimed was the very same message that God had directed His prophets to proclaim to His people for centuries!\u00a0 And what was that message?\u00a0 Luke sums up the Advent message of John the Baptist when he says in our text, \u201cHe went into all the country around the Jordan preaching a baptism of repentance<\/strong> for the forgiveness of sins.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Repent!\u00a0 That one powerful little word sums up the Advent message that you and I are here to listen to today, my friends.\u00a0 As we listen to that message we need to remember that true Scriptural repentance is not simply saying \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u201d when we get caught doing something we should not be doing.\u00a0 No, true Scriptural repentance always<\/em><\/strong> includes change.\u00a0 That change is first worked in our hearts through the powerful message of God\u2019s holy Law\u2014 the law which \u201cchanges\u201d the way that we look at sin.\u00a0 To help us understand the dramatic \u201cchange\u201d that repentance works in our hearts and then in our lives Luke directs us to these words of the prophet Isaiah, \u201cA voice of one calling in the desert, \u2018Prepare the way for the LORD, make straight paths for him.\u00a0 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.\u00a0 The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The picture that is painted for us here by the prophet Isaiah is not at all difficult to understand.\u00a0 What is<\/u> difficult is to listen<\/em><\/strong> to these words\u2014 to honestly listen<\/em><\/strong> to these words and then apply them to our own hearts and to our own lives.\u00a0 Advent is the time that you and I have been given to \u201cprepare the way for the LORD.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Included in that preparation is listening to God\u2019s holy Law so that the \u201cvalleys\u201d<\/em> in our life can be \u201cfilled in,\u201d<\/em> so that the \u201cmountains\u201d<\/em> and the \u201chills\u201d<\/em> can be \u201cmade low,\u201d<\/em> so that anything that is \u201ccrooked\u201d<\/em> in our lives can \u201cbecome straight,\u201d<\/em> so that anything that is \u201crough\u201d<\/em> can \u201cbecome smooth.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n But what do these word pictures mean in practical terms?\u00a0 The specific answer to that question will vary from one individual child of God to the next.\u00a0 What I want to do this morning is place before you some questions for you to consider and then let you fill in the specific details for your own heart and for your own life.<\/p>\n Is there anything in your heart or in your life that is like a mountain that is \u201cstanding in the way\u201d of your personal preparation for Christmas?\u00a0 Is there any pride or prejudice, any conceit or envy, any anger or jealousy in your heart that needs to be \u201ccut down\u201d?\u00a0 Is there any part of your life that is motivated by or focused on selfishness or greed?\u00a0 Are there any \u201cvalleys\u201d\u2014 or dare we say \u201cpotholes\u201d\u2014 in the spiritual road of your life?\u00a0 Is there anything that is eating away at your soul like some kind of spiritual cancer\u2014 perhaps old animosities that you have been unwilling to let go of, grudges that you have been nursing for quite some time?\u00a0 Are you feeling guilty because of your sins\u2014 whether sins that you committed a long time ago or sins that you committed already this morning?\u00a0 Do you feel the oppressive burden of un-repented sins?\u00a0 Take a moment sometime today, my friends, and privately review each of the Ten Commandments that the Lord God Himself has given to you.\u00a0 Even if it is just as you are laying your head down on your pillow do not go to sleep this evening without first taking a moment to listen!\u00a0 Listen to the powerful holy Law of your God so that you know what needs to be \u201cfilled in,\u201d<\/em> what needs to be \u201cmade low,\u201d<\/em> what needs to be \u201cstraightened out\u201d <\/em>and what needs to be \u201cmade smooth\u201d<\/em> in your heart and in your life so that you<\/u> are prepared for the Advent of your Lord!<\/p>\n Once we have listened to God\u2019s holy Law then\u2014 and only then\u2014 are we ready to hear the sweet soothing message of the Gospel!\u00a0 Here in our text the sweet message of the Gospel is brought out in the simple words of verse six, \u201cAnd all mankind will see God\u2019s salvation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The Greek word that is translated here as \u201csalvation\u201d<\/em> can also be translated as \u201cdeliverance\u201d<\/em> or \u201crelease.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 No matter what sins God\u2019s holy Law exposes in your heart and in your life, my friends, your God has graciously provided you with the free Christmas gift of His \u201csalvation\u201d<\/em> \u2014 complete forgiveness for all of your sins!\u00a0 No matter how often your own pride, your own greed, your own rebelliousness has created mountain-like obstacles between you and the God of heaven, your God has lovingly provided you with the free Christmas gift of His \u201cdeliverance\u201d<\/em> so that you can put all of that behind you and humbly walk hand-in-hand with your Lord.\u00a0 No matter how low the guilt and the burden of your sin has dragged you down your God has provided you with the free Christmas gift of His \u201crelease\u201d\u2014 \u201crelease\u201d<\/em> from all<\/em><\/strong> that guilt, \u201crelease\u201d<\/em> from that entire<\/em><\/strong> burden through the cross of His Son!\u00a0 (Pointing to the cross)<\/p>\n Through the glorious message of the Gospel, God the Holy Spirit has given to us the ability to humbly kneel beside the manger and see\u2014 not just with our eyes, but also with our heart\u2014 to see the Child of Bethlehem as God\u2019s gift of \u201csalvation,\u201d<\/em> as God\u2019s gift of \u201cdeliverance,\u201d<\/em> as God\u2019s gift of \u201crelease\u201d<\/em>\u2014 for you, for me and for \u201call mankind\u201d<\/em>!\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that what Christmas is all about?\u00a0 Of course we enjoy all the Christmas lights and all the Christmas decorations.\u00a0 Of course we rejoice in the opportunity to exchange Christmas gifts with our family and friends.\u00a0 But all the Christmas lights and all the Christmas decorations are absolutely worthless, all the Christmas gifts and all the Christmas festivities are completely futile\u2014 unless we are able to look inside the manger of Bethlehem and see the precious gift of God\u2019s eternally begotten Son born of a woman, born under Law to redeem us from our sins!<\/p>\n There are indeed some things that we don\u2019t like listening to.\u00a0 Like fingernails scraping across a blackboard they cause us to recoil.\u00a0 There are also things that we love to listen to\u2014 like a small child saying their bedtime prayers or singing Away in the Manger.<\/p>\n As you and I now find ourselves halfway through the season of Advent it is important for us to listen, my friends, \u2014 truly listen\u2014 to the Advent message of John the Baptist.\u00a0 By listening to John as he proclaims God\u2019s powerful holy Law we realize what we need to get rid of in our life and what we need to change in our heart in order to personally prepare the way for our Lord.\u00a0 By listening to John as he proclaims the sweet message of the Gospel, we will be able to celebrate Christmas for what it is:\u00a0 a glorious celebration of the free gift of \u201cGod\u2019s salvation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n My encouragement to you then this morning, my friends, is found in that powerful little imperative\u2014 Listen!\u00a0 Listen to the Advent message of God\u2019s servant John!<\/p>\n To God be the glory!<\/p>\n Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Second Sunday in Advent December 6, 2015 Luke 3:1-6 \u201cIn the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar\u2014when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene\u2014during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah 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