Fourth Sunday of Advent - The Change

"My experience tells me that those who have suffered and still hope understand far more about God and about life than those who have not.  Maybe that is what hope is about: a way to live, not just to survive, but to live authentically amidst all of the problems of life with a Faith that continues to see possibility when there is no present evidence of it, just because God is God.  That is also the wonder of Advent." By Dennis Bratcher

Christmas is almost here.  This is the final Sunday of Advent.  Tomorrow night, we will light the Christ candle and remember Jesus' entrance into this world.  Since Advent began, we have looked at how Jesus came into this world to execute justice, provide the ultimate sacrifice for sin, and fill those who were hungry and thirst for righteousness.  Today, we will look at how Jesus brought love into this world.

Let's read a familiar scripture about the birth of Jesus.  Luke 2:1-14.

As I was thinking about this familiar scripture, I began to think back to what it must have been like on the day Jesus was born.  We talk about it, we imagine it, some even visit the place believed to be it.  It really happened.  Jesus, the Son of God, Savior, Prince of Peace was born.  We imagine that night as spectacular.  We can almost see fireworks.  Today, we can imagine press releases and TV crews and millions of people who wanted to see.  But, as I read it, this day was much different. 

Jesus was born in a stable to ordinary parents (at least by worldly standards).  He was born and other than a star, some shepherds, and later, a few wise men, there wasn't this huge deal going on.  There were angels singing to the shepherds, but it wasn't like there was a really big fanfare from the world.  The world was unchanged that night…at least on the surface.  Time continued to move on.  People slept, got up the next morning, went to work, got counted in the census, traveled back home, continued on about their lives.  But, we say, "A SAVIOR is born!"  Not a lot changed that day for the world.  While it was absolutely a miracle from God, it wasn't like God made the sky funny colors or had a big blinking sign in the sky announcing the birth of His Son.  It was quiet and peaceful.  It wouldn't stay quiet, but for now it was.  As far as the people knew, nothing had changed. 

We are thinking…But JESUS was born!?!  In that little tiny baby was all the hope, joy, peace and LOVE of God.  But, the world moved on.  We learned that Jesus was Immanuel…God with us…but the world moved on.  How could they have missed it?  I ask you…how is it that we are missing it?

From what I read and study, Jesus didn't come to change the world…at least not on that trip.  He didn't come to overthrow the government.  He didn't do away with the religious system that was in place.  He didn't zap people who weren't doing the right thing.  He came in with love and with peace and with joy and with hope.  He didn't change the world…He changed the hearts of people.

Let's look at one last scripture:  1 John 4:13-16.  This scripture reminds us that God is love and He gave us love through Jesus.  Jesus was sent by God to save us from our sins.  He sent Jesus to be with us.  He sent Jesus to show us real love. 

Jesus came to change the hearts of people.  He changed the hearts of the disciples.  He changed the hearts of some of the religious leaders.  He changed the heart of the Samaritan woman and of the demon possessed man and of the centurion.  He changed their hearts because He brought something the world could not ever offer.  He brought hope and peace and joy and LOVE.  This Christmas, is He changing you?  We look around the world and wonder where the hope and joy and peace and love really is.  We wonder why we have to struggle and why we have to suffer.  We wonder why we have to endure all of the hardships.  I'm telling you that…Jesus is still changing hearts and lives, even right in the middle of the suffering and hardships.  He is still changing people one by one…who change communities…who change states…who change countries…who change the world.  Jesus came into the world quietly, peacefully, and without fanfare.  Jesus is still working in this world quietly, peacefully, and without fanfare.  But, He is working powerfully.  Don't miss it this Christmas…He just might be changing you. 

Third Sunday of Advent...Hungry

Are you HUNGRY?  Have you ever been hungry?  I don't mean just a little hungry…I mean REALLY hungry?  The kind of hungry that makes you driven even though you are weak…the kind of hungry that has you seeking and searching, looking for something that will satisfy…that deep, painful hunger?  Not too long ago, Snickers ran a commercial where people were driven and weren’t satisfied until they got their Snickers…remember Snickers Satisfies?  When we hunger for things of this world, we will always hunger again.  When we hunger for food today at lunch, we will hunger again soon…some sooner than others.

The things of this world will never satisfy the hungers that we have deep within us.  The people of Jesus' day were hungry.  I'm not talking about hungry for food or water.  But, they were hungry.  Remember that God had been silent for around 400 years.  Many of the people had had enough of the religious protocol.  They were hungry for God.  They were hungry to hear from God.  They were hungry to be with God.  Let's look at a few scriptures this morning beginning with Matthew 1:22-25.

In these passages, we read about another purpose that God came to fulfill…He was Immanuel…God with us.  God was going to satisfy that deep hunger that the people had by sending Jesus.  We read in the beatitudes…Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled."  Jesus was in the hunger fulfillment business…

You might also remember another passage about the woman at the well…Jesus asks her for a drink of water and she questions Him regarding His request because He is a Jew and she is a Samaritan (a cultural 'no-no').  John 4:10-15.  Jesus came to bring fulfillment with living water.

One last passage to remember…one that stirred up much controversy…not just when He said it, but even when it was written down.  John 6:26-35.  Here, we see that Jesus is a fulfillment of hunger and thirst for those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty. 

So, I want to look back to the beginning of the message…are you HUNGRY?  Do you really hunger and thirst for righteousness?  Do you have a desire deep within you that isn't filled with anything in this world?  Is there a hole in you that you have tried to fill with so many other things only to find out that you come up empty and unfulfilled?  That is because only Jesus is the real bread of life.  He who comes to Him will be filled. 

With the tragedy in Connecticut that cuts to the heart of all of us, I am reminded of just how hungry I am for Him.  With the unrest politically in our world, I am hungry for Him.  With the uncertainties that this world holds, I am hungry for Him.  With the constant push to get more, better, faster…I am hungry for Him.  With every waking moment, may we become more hungry for Him.  Only when we are hungry for the true bread will we ever be truly filled.  Are you HUNGRY?

2nd Sunday of Advent

Advent began last week.  This year's theme for advent is remembering what Jesus came to do when He came into this world, and what He will come to finish at His second coming.  The first week, we looked at how Jesus came to execute justice.

This week, the scripture will show us what Jesus came to do.  Luke 5:27-32.

First, we notice that Jesus is not doing what the religious people of that day would do.  Jesus is sitting down as a guest with the common people.  He is going where the Pharisees and scribes would not have gone.  They would have been way too uncomfortable and that would have been below their standards.  Because of their obvious discomfort, they are very upset with Jesus. 

Second, notice that Jesus isn't going to be a tax collector.  Jesus isn't going to learn the ropes of how to collect money and steal from the poor.  He wasn't going to learn a "get rich quick scheme".  He had all the riches He ever needed or wanted in His Father.  If that's what He wanted, He was with the right group.  They could certainly show Him the ropes.

Instead, He was going because He had made a difference in Levi and wanted to make a different in the lives of those who were there.  He wasn't going to become one of them, but wanted them to follow Him as Levi had agreed to do.  Levi invited Jesus to His house where there would be other tax collectors. Levi had experienced what Jesus could do and wanted to celebrate that. 

Third, Jesus states a purpose of why He came to earth.  He came to call sinners to repentance. 

Joseph was told about this purpose before Jesus was born.  Matthew 1:20,21.   Jesus and Jesus ONLY will save His people from their sins.

This is most important for today.  Jesus was there to help bring repentance to those who were in sin.  There were people Jesus constantly met who saw their sin and their need for Him.  The Pharisees and scribes were also in sin.  They just didn't see their sin.  They felt justified.  Unfortunately, they were missing why Jesus had come.  When Jesus forgave sins, they were in an uproar.  Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.  The lost are those in sin.

We are lost without Him.  Lost from what?  We are lost in our sin without true hope, true joy, true peace, and true love.  Without Him, we are left to believe that humankind offers us hope and joy and peace and love.  If we look around the world, we see that this isn't going to happen.  People will let us down.  People will hurt us. 

Living in this sinful world is tough…really tough.  There are things that just aren't fair about this world.  There are things we will never understand.  This world can certainly cause us to lose hope.  It can certainly attempt to steal our joy.  Only through the saving power of Jesus can we look beyond the circumstances of this world and see Him.  We don't have to understand why things happen...we just have to understand the One who came to overcome this world…and the sins of this world. 

First Sunday of Advent

This advent season, I would like to introduce a new theme.  Advent is a time of preparation.  We look forward to celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  It is also a time to look forward to His second coming.  With that in mind, over the next four weeks, we will look at some of the purposes which Jesus came the first time and some that He will be coming to complete in His second coming.

Isaiah 25:6-9; 26:1-6

The first Sunday of Advent, we will look at how:  Jesus came to EXECUTE JUSTICE

What does that mean?  For me, it means that He came to bring back what is right.  People had lost focus.  God had not spoken for 400 years.  The religious officials were doing the right things for the wrong reasons.  The people had become lost and complacent.  In the times of the prophet Malachi, God warns the people because they have broken covenants through their pitiful sacrifices, their injustice, and willful disobedience.  God lays it all out to them about how they have disobeyed Him.  As time goes on, they continue to disobey Him.  Sure, there are those who know the law.  There are those who follow the law to the letter.  But those same people who are following the law are twisting it so that they feel justified and they can do what they desire.  God doesn't stand for disobedience.  He wanted justice. 

Jesus came to bring justice to His people.  He didn't come in the way that one might think.  He didn't execute justice in the way that people would have guessed.  He didn't come and follow the law and make those of the law feel better about themselves.  He did the unexpected.  He came as a baby not born to human royalty.  He came as a baby who grew up without a lot of fanfare.  He grew up and didn't follow the rules set by the religious as people thought He should.  The justice He brought was for the poor and oppressed…it was for the sinners…the outcasts…the cast down.  Jesus didn't come for those who already thought a great deal about themselves…they felt justified by their good works.  They were following the law, to their benefit.  The religious leaders excluded many people…Jesus touched them.

Jesus came to show the people what following God really meant.  He brought hope where hope had been lost (Isaiah 9:2).  He turned over tables of money changers, He blew the minds of those who thought they were doing everything perfect, He showed them that God is a God of hope...Hope for those who were lost, hurting, abandoned. 

Jesus continues to do that.  He continues to challenge us.  We think we have it together as a church.  We think we have it together as Christians.  But, if we read His Word, we realize over and over again where we miss it.  We miss what it means to really worship…to obey…to follow…to love. 

Jesus will come again…He will finish what He started.  When He does, justice will be fulfilled completely…Revelation 21:6, "He said to me: 'It is done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.  To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.  Those who are victorious will inherit all of this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.'"

 For those who have gone their own way and forsaken the Lord, there is a justice for them as well.  It is described as the lake of fire.  Justice has come, justice will come again.

What does that mean for me and you?  It means that we have to look at who we are and what we are doing.  Our actions should reflect what is on the inside.  If we know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, then that should not be hidden, but like the candle lit this morning, should light the way of hope.  Maybe it's time we start getting serious about our faith and following the One whose coming we celebrate this month.  Maybe it's time we look at ourselves to inspect if we are following the justice of God or the justice of man.  Maybe it's time we take a look at who it is we follow.