Third Sunday of Advent -- The Tender Mercy of God

 As I was preparing for this message on this third Sunday of Advent, a week and a half before the celebration of the birth of our Savior, I read the story of the 64-year-old grandmother who, while looking for her lost cat, fell into a sink hole in her town in Pennsylvania. Rescue units eventually found her dead body in a long-ago abandoned mine some 30 feet underground.

 

That tragic story – and oh, yes, it is a terribly tragic story – that story is in some ways an illustration of what has happened to all of humanity. I’ll say it again – what has happened to ALL of humanity – you, me, our beloved families, our friends and our neighbors. Everyone.

 

Ever since the third chapter of Genesis when Satan seduced Eve into sin, every person on this planet has fallen into a sink hole the Bible calls sin. And like the rescue workers who searched unsuccessfully to save the woman who fell into that dark cavern, God – from the earliest moments of our own fall into the cavern of sin – God set about to rescue us from our own death – our ETERNAL death.

 

He rescued some successfully. But most, and by their own choice, unsuccessfully. And some of you might be wondering what that all has to do with Christmas. Well, stay with me a while.

 

Many of you know the text Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). And yes, God, on His rescue mission, found each of us. But when He found us, we were already dead – as the apostle Paul wrote in his letter the Ephesians: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1)

 

But Paul continued in that same text to Ephesians – AND to us at Ashwood Meadows: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ . . . and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly paces in Christ Jesus . . . For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:4-9)

 

Unlike the woman’s rescuers who could not revive the 64-year-old grandmother, our Majestic Rescuer not only revived us, but placed us firmly into His eternal kingdom. Listen again to how He tells it through the apostle Paul: (Colossians 1:13-14) “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

 

Well, to clarify – God rescued those who WANT to be rescued. He forgave and transferred into His kingdom ONLY those who WANT to be forgiven and transferred.

 

Why did God to that for us? Certainly not because of anything good within us. We were dead, after all. But He did it because of His mercy. It was His mercy that made us alive, put the breath of life into our dead spirits and embraced each of us in His merciful arms.

 

Today is the third Sunday of Advent. My primary text this afternoon is again a short passage from Zachariah’s prophecy about his newborn son, John the Baptizer. Zachariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, said: (Luke 1:76ff) “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; To give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God.”

 

Before we move much further into this message, let me remind you of the Biblical definition of God's mercy: It means He does not and will not give the Christian what his or her sins deserve. Indeed, not only does God give us His undeserved forgiveness, but He ALSO chooses to utterly forget them, to toss them into the depths of the sea of his forgetfulness. I’ve spoken about those promises many times in the past, so I only cite a couple of Biblical references that you can review later on for yourselves: Psalm 103:8-14 and Micah 7:18-19.

 

Last week we briefly examined the link between salvation and the forgiveness of our sins. Today, we will look at the last clause in that text which tells us our forgiveness and salvation is the result of “The tender mercy of our God.” 

 

By the way, it might interest you to know that while the word ‘mercy’ is often used in references to God and His love, the dyad, “tender mercy” appears only once in the entire Bible. Only once – and it is here in this prophecy of Zacharias over his infant son, John.

 

The tender mercy of God.

 

Were it not for the tender mercy of God, I’d be closer to eternity than I’d want to think about. At 74 ½ years old, and were it not for God's tender mercy, all I could hope for would be that when I stand before the Awesome and Most Holy God my good works would outweigh my bad.

 

But as I would become more reflective and honest about my life, I’d have to remember – much to my own panic – I’d have to remember the many grievous and wicked things I’ve done in my lifetime. And I would suddenly realize, with absolute certainty, that no amount of good works could ever, in 1000 lifetimes, outweigh the evil that I’ve done.

 

And I would dig myself deeper into depression as I reminded myself, God does not have a statute of limitations on any sins. They are all – every last one that I committed as a young teen, or an older adult – they are all written in bold letters on the ledger of my life.

 

You might think I’m being too hard on myself. I don’t think I am. And please – don’t allow yourself to deceive yourself into thinking YOUR past sins – going back multiple decades – that your past sins are not ALSO still on God's ledger.

 

All of them – whether you did them or thought them – unless you have been born again by your faith in Christ’s atonement, unless you are a new person in Christ – they’re all there, waiting to be brought forth at your judgment.

 

Listen to this warning in the Revelation: (Revelation 20:11-13) “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.”

 

Oh, I hope those words trouble everyone who is not born again through their faith in Christ’s atonement for their sins. But it is BECAUSE of the tender mercy of God, when the Almighty Creator clothed Himself in human flesh, whose sole purpose was to pay the penalty for each of our sins – it is because of the tender mercy of God that anyone can have their sins totally erased from their ledger.

 

How? When they call upon Christ, repent of their sins – as many as they can remember – and determine to follow Christ the rest of their lives. That’s how.

 

OH! What can wash away my sins? Good works? Tithes and offerings? Church attendance? Receiving Holy Communion? What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know – nothing but the blood of Jesus.

 

THAT’S what Christmas is all about – The tender mercy of God.

 

And please pardon me for asking this next question, but I must ask it because I am responsible to God to ask it: Where do you fit in this message of God's mercy? Are you covered with the blood of Christ by repentance and faith in His sacrifice?

 

Some of you . . . perhaps many of you . . . perhaps even most of you have done things in your past that you choose not to think of because they’re so horrible, so shameful, so embarrassing.

 

And for those of you who don’t think you’ve done anything as to deserve God's fullest wrath, I challenge you to get quiet with the Lord – I mean really quiet – and honestly and with a spirit of humility – ask Him to show you the things that you’ve done in your life, things that even you would call horrible.

 

And listen, please: When He does show you your terrible sins, then remember the tender mercy of God that will wipe them ALL from your ledger; Cleanse them all with the blood of Christ when you come to Him for mercy.

 

As the Scripture reminds us: (Romans 10:9-11) “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

 

But what of those who think they’ve been too deep in sin, done too many horrible things in their lives, for them to hope for God's tender mercy?

Well, let’s look at a few examples from both the Bible and from modern history to answer that objection:

 

Manasseh was one of the most wicked kings the people of Judah ever had the misfortune to reign over them. You’ll find his story in 2 Kings 21. Not only did Manasseh lead his nation into horrid and deadly idolatries, not only did he erect idols in the Holy Temple itself, but he practiced the occult and sacrificed his son to the fires of one of his false gods.

 

But God's tender mercy extended even to Manasseh. When the wicked king found himself ruthlessly punished by God for his sins . .  . well, here is how the Chronicler recorded it in 2 Chronicles 33:11-13: “Therefore the Lord brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria . . . and they captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze chains and took him to Babylon. When he was in distress, he entreated the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. When he prayed to Him, [God] was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.” (2 Chronicles 33:11-13)

 

Oh, the tender mercy of God.

 

And then there’s David. I’ve mentioned him many times in the past and as recently as a week or so ago. The king was guilty of adultery and murder, but when he cried to the Lord for mercy, God did not disappoint him.

 

And then there is Saul the religious terrorist. Listen to his own words as he stood before the Roman king and governor: (Acts 26:9-11) “I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death, I cast my vote against them. And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities.

 

I think it is fair to assume Saul actually tortured men and women to force them to blaspheme.

 

And finally, for my point, in modern times there’s Bernard Nathanson. I’ll be surprised if any of you recognize his name. Nathanson was a cofounder of the National Abortion Rights League in the 60s. Nathanson performed or oversaw the cold-blooded murder of more than 60,000 babies in the womb by elective abortions. How can we even wrap our minds around that number? Sixty-thousand babies.

 

But here’s an even greater number: The spinoffs from the National Abortion Rights League have resulted in more than 65 million babies in America murdered in their mother’s womb by elective abortions. Who can wrap their mind around THAT number? But in 1996 Nathanson became a Christian and until his death 15 years later was a powerful voice for the unborn.

 

Certainly, what Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome AND at Ashwood Meadows has proven true for all of us who are born again: (Romans 2:4) “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”

 

Yes, who can understand the tender mercy of God? I cannot. But I am overwhelmingly grateful for the tender mercy of God for his forgiveness and for eternal salvation.

 

As I bring this message to a close, I want to return us to the story of the woman lost in that sinkhole and help us make some personal application on this third Sunday of Advent.

 

Every time you sit in that dining room, every time you shop in the local stores, or rub shoulders in crowds, you’re in the midst of men and women who have fallen into the sinkhole of sin. They’ve been there for decades. They don’t know it, but they’re all “dead in their trespasses and sins.”

 

Christian, please hear this: Each of us has the privilege to search and rescue them. The Christian has the privilege AND the responsibility to do what we can do for the King of kings. What is it Jesus commanded us: (Matthew 28:19-20) “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 

How can you go to them? The ways and the methods are varied and are not difficult. Here are a few suggestions (and not in any particular order):

 

1. Pray over your meals. Let people know you are thankful to your God for your food and your health to enjoy it.

2. Invite them to our church services and Bible studies.

3. Ask God to help you live a more holy life. Don’t give people a reason to mock your faith and think of you as a hypocrite.

4. Stop gossiping. The Lord Jesus warned us (Matthew 12:37) “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” And James added: (James 1:26) “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue . . . . this person’s religion is worthless.” 

5. Open your Bibles and reflect on God‘s word.

6. To the best of your financial ability, support Christian missionary work and other Christian organizations around the country and the world.

7. Do as the Lord asks of us in Matthew 9:37-39: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

 

When that grandmother woke up that morning, she of course could not have known – no one could have known – that it would be her last morning of life.

 

Are you ready to meet the Lord? Have you sought His tender mercy as the thief of the cross sought it? Nothing can erase a lifetime of sin – no good works, no church attendance, not receiving Holy Communion – nothing but your repentance and your faith in the sacrificial atonement of our Savior, Jesus the Christ – given to us because of the tender mercy of God.

Second Sunday of Avent: Preparing the Way

Today is the second Sunday of Advent. As I reminded us of last week, Advent is the season leading to the celebration of our Savior’s birth 2000 years ago in that little town of Bethlehem. Advent gives us yet another opportunity to prepare our hearts for that celebration.

Certainly, most Christians try to prepare themselves for service to the Lord 365 days out of the year by daily pleasing Him and obeying His commandments. But also to many Christians, the season of Advent is an occasion to help us focus a bit more pointedly on celebrations that are important in our lives.

And yet we each need to be careful during the Christmas season that we not get caught up in the pretty lights and the sounds and parties and family get-togethers. We need to be careful that we are not distracted from the REAL REASON for the season. We need to be diligently careful that we do not forget what Christmas eventually cost our Almighty Father in heaven three decades later on Calvary’s cross.

 

My primary text this afternoon is a short passage from Zachariah’s prophecy about his newborn son, John the Baptizer. The occasion is the circumcision and naming of their son. Zachariah, filled with the Holy Spirit said: (Luke 1:76-78a) “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; To give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God.”

 

I want to focus our attention today on verse 77 as the Holy Spirit draws a critical link between salvation and the forgiveness of the sins. We know, of course, that there can be no forgiveness of sins without repentance. Indeed, the first recorded words of Jesus after His baptism by John in that Jordan River and his subsequent 40-day testing in the wilderness were: (Matthew 4:17) “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

If we are serious about preparing ourselves for the upcoming celebration of the Lord’s birth, then repentance must be at the very core of our preparations. Why is that? Because faithful Christians recognize in the deepest recesses of our souls that repentance is not secondary to the gospel message. It is at the very heart of the gospel message. That’s likely one reason the Lord Jesus said: “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32)

As I prepared this message, I thought of the thieves crucified on either side of the Lord Jesus. The one thief clearly had no idea of – nor a concern for – his need for repentance. Luke tells us what happened: (Luke 23:39-43) “One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” 

 

The man was clearly concerned only for his release from the cross. Sorrow and repentance for his crimes had no place in his heart. But the so-called good thief – Oh! Look at how his heart had changed. Again, Luke tells us: “But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” 

 

The man was not only sorrowful for his crimes but was contrite before Jesus. He was repentant before Jesus. And you know what happened next. The Lord told him “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

 

Listen: We know God never jokes; And when the Holy Spirit moved Peter to proclaim to the religious clergy on the Day of Pentecost: ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’ -- God was very serious about that promise.

 

And when He moved Paul to tell those at Rome: “He who believes in [Christ] will not be disappointed.” (Romans 9:33), God was equally serious.

And God remains serious about His love and tender mercy toward anyone today who repents before the Lord.

As I reflected further on the link between repentance and salvation, I thought back to King David. We find in the Scriptures that God called David a man after his own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). Now, those who know of David’s sins might wonder why God would say such a thing about the man. After all, in rapid succession, David broke three of the 10 Commandments. He lusted after another man’s wife, he then committed adultery with her, and a short time later he had Bathsheba’s husband murdered on the battlefield.

It’s important to this point to understand that, according to the Law of Moses, God would not accept any sacrifice as atonement for any of those sins. But God called David a man after his own heart. So, why was that?

I think the key is found in two of David’s psalms: 51 and 32. Bible scholars tell us, David wrote those psalms after his encounter with Nathan the prophet who rebuked the king for his adultery and subsequent murder of her husband to cover up his sin.

 

Before I read the 51^st psalm, listen first to what Nathan told the king: (2 Samuel 12): “There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. “The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. “But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb which he bought and nourished; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom and was like a daughter to him.

“Now a traveler came to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd, to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him; Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

 

Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.” Nathan then said to David, “You are the man!”

 

You can read the more complete account in 2 Samuel 12, but my point is, David knew God was very angry at him. He also knew God's indictment of him was completely justified. And without hesitation, the king confessed: “I have sinned against the Lord.”

 

Back now to Psalm 51, which is a long look into David’s heart after Nathan’s rebuke: “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge . .  . Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me . . . For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

 

Listen now to the 32^nd psalm which David also wrote in the aftermath of the Bathsheba incident. Here is a portion of that Psalm: “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity . . .When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin.”

So, having just now shared with you David’s words of contrition and repentance, WHY do you think God called him a man after His own heart? I believe it was because of David’s humility, his willingness to confess his sins to God and beg God's mercy.

 

Which now begs an important question of all of us: Why do people not repent of their sins? Why do people who know that they have broken God’s law not repent? I’m sure there are many reasons, but mostly, I think, it’s because people choose to believe that what they’ve done is NOT wrong – like the woman written about in Proverbs 30:20: “This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, and says, “I have done no wrong.”

 

Other reasons for refusing to repent surely include pride – the kind of arrogance Frank Sinatra trumpeted in his signature song, “I did it MY way,” and the smugness of Sammy Davis Jr. who sang, “I Gotta be Me.”

 

But beyond pride and the dangerously false notion that their sins are not really sins in God's eyes, I think other reasons people don’t repent is because part of our human nature tries to avoid thinking about things for which we are ashamed and embarrassed.

 

Which, if you think about it, is a pretty silly idea, trying to avoid dealing with our sins because we are embarrassed by them. I mean, He knows all about what we’ve done, anyway, so why not just tell Him we’re ashamed and embarrassed. Why not just tell him we’re sorry and stop trying to avoid facing what we did? Why not just repent? Why not just soften our heart before God and, thereby be a man or woman after God's own heart?

 

Otherwise – and this is important – if we refuse to soften our hearts before the God who sees all and knows all – then beware: Refusing to make our hearts soft will inescapably lead to a hardened heart. It is simply a truism of Scripture: The more often we refuse to repent the harder our hearts become.

 

Listen to this warning of Scripture: “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. ¹³ But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin . . . [and so] Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 3:12-13, 15a)

 

What happens to people who harden their hearts? Listen to Proverbs 29:1 “A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy.”

 

And listen also to the Chronicler: “The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy.” (2 Chronicles 36:15-16)

 

Truly – as again Scripture warns us – “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31)

 

Oh, yes. It IS a fearful thing to harden our heart. Let me give you some examples of men and women in history who hardened their hearts beyond remedy, of those who refused to bow their knee in repentance before the One who created them:

 

On his deathbed, Voltaire, the French philosopher and well-known atheist uttered these last words: "I have swallowed nothing but smoke. I have intoxicated myself with the incense that turned my head. I am abandoned by God and man.”

 

Sir Francis Newport, former Head of the English Atheist club, said to those gathered around his deathbed: "You need not tell me there is no God, for I know there is one, and that I am in his presence! You need not tell me there is no hell. I feel myself already slipping. Wretches, cease your idle talk about there being hope for me! I know I am lost forever! Oh, that fire! Oh, the insufferable pangs of hell . .  . Oh, eternity, eternity forever and forever! Oh, the insufferable pangs of Hell!”

 

Finally, for our point, is Anton Levey, the author of the Satanic Bible and so-called ‘high priest’ of Satan. His dying words were these: "Oh my, oh my, what have I done? There is something very wrong. There is something very wrong.”

 

Such a destiny of eternal terror awaits EVERY man and woman who refuses to bow their knee in repentance before God in this life while they still had the chance. Without repentance there can be no salvation.

 

But what of those who DO repent and live a life of ongoing repentance for their ongoing sins? Well, let’s for a moment return to King David. Because he was a man after God's own heart, we can be sure he LIVED a life of repentance. And because of that unbreakable link between repentance and salvation, it should come as no surprise that he would write: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” (Psalm 23:4)

 

Many of you know the old hymn, “Rock of Ages.” Its author, Augustus Toplady, called out these last words on his deathbed: “Oh, what delights! Who can fathom the joy of the third heaven? The sky is clear, there is no cloud; come Lord Jesus, come quickly!"

Joseph Everett, another child of God, exulted on his deathbed for a full 25 minutes, again and again, until he entered the gates of heaven: "GLORY! GLORY! GLORY!"

 

St Elizabeth of the Trinity softly uttered these last words before passing into eternity: ‘I am going to the light, to love, to life!’”

 

And finally to this point, the apostle Paul wrote these last words in a letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:7-8): “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

 

I close this message by briefly returning to Zachariah’s prophesy over his son, John the Baptizer: “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; To give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God.”

 

How will you prepare the way of the Lord into your life, your hearts, your soul, your spirits this Advent season and throughout the coming year? How will I do the same?

 

This question is not a superfluous question with which to close this message of repentance and salvation. It is a most pressing question that ought to cut to the very core of our relationship with our most holy, holy, holy God. May the Holy Spirit make us each diligently careful to not let our hearts grow hard to His whispers into our souls, His gentle call to ongoing and daily repentance of our daily sins. As the Psalmist prayed, so we also pray:

 

“Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, and I shall observe it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law and keep it with all my heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it . . . Establish Your word to Your servant, as that which produces reverence for You . . . Revive me through Your righteousness.  (Psalm 119:33-40)

 

For Christ’s glory and in His name we pray. Amen.

Falling in Love -- First of Advent 2024

First of Advent 2024

Falling In Love

 

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. The season of Advent is the time in the church calendar when many Christians try to reflect on how we can better imitate Jesus to our family, friends, neighbors, and strangers. It’s a season during which many Christians try to step back from their routine day to day activities and prepare their hearts for the day on which we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

 

I’ve heard it said by those in the Church that EVERY day is the day in which we should prepare our hearts for the Lord. Every day is the day in which we should better reflect Jesus. And that is true. And I have said such things myself.

 

But Christmas, as with all Church holidays, serves as reminders that we can all do better in our relationship with God. We can all do better in reminding ourselves of His presence with us at every moment of our day and night, hearing every thought, watching our every action.

 

Listen, we can all always do better practicing obedience to His whispering voice.

 

Some think all that is required to be a Christian is to be baptized, or to go down to an altar and make a confession of faith. But such a shallow idea of conversion devalues the cost of the cross. It cheapens what Christ did on Calvary.

The Christian walk is a continual, daily walk. Jesus told us, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23). A daily walk means obediently following Jesus in good times and bad times, in sickness and in health, in times of wealth and times of poverty, when it’s convenient and when it’s inconvenient. God did everything He possibly could to save us. For us to reduce His sacrifice of His beloved Son to a once-in-a-lifetime commitment to Jesus demonstrates just how little we consider the cost of the cross of Jesus.

That our walk with Christ is an ongoing journey is a critically important biblically based concept. Those who ignore that truth, or make light of it, may find themselves at the Judgment Seat of Christ, hearing Him say, “Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:21-23. Matthew 25:31-46; and Luke 13:24-28).

 

So, on this first Sunday of Advent, as we consider how we might better prepare ourselves for our Bridegroom, I want us to focus on a text in Luke’s gospel: “And he [John] came into all the district 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, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight. (Luke 3:3-4)

 

And so, how might we be a people doing a better job preparing ourselves for the Lord and making our own paths straight as we follow our Shepherd?

 

I think many of us, either unconsciously or semi-consciously – are far too willing to make excuses for our sins – especially sins of our thoughts and our tongues. We too easily rationalize them as simply part of our sin nature – and then we move on with other things in life. I know what I am talking about, because I have done that too often in my own life.

 

Thankfully, the Holy Spirit is not inclined to let us get away with any of our excuses and rationalizations. He gives us several lists of sins to which we must remain constantly vigilant. However, I will not take time talking in any detail about those sins. Everyone in this room knows intuitively what constitutes sin – such as immoral thoughts, lying, pride, gossip, and an unwillingness to forgive others, having a critical spirit toward others, promoting ourselves at the expense of others. The lists go one, as you well know.

 

That is why the Holy Spirit warns us through St Paul’s pen: “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8).

 

Reaping and Sowing. That’s why preparation for the Lord Jesus requires “cleans[ing] ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and perfecting holiness in the fear of God,” as the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth. (2 Corinthians 7:1)

 

Reaping and sowing. Don’t think for a moment Satan is not aware of that spiritual principle. That’s why he tries his best to first twist our understanding of God, planting lies and half-truths in our hearts, because if he is successful in corrupting our thoughts about God who is our merciful, loving, and most gracious heavenly Father, it becomes like child’s play for him to reap disaster in our thoughts and in our lives.

 

What is that lie Satan wants to plant in our hearts? It’s the idea that paints God as an angry, capricious, and hard taskmaster who stands in front of His throne with a whip, watching our every move, eagerly waiting for you and me to mess up so He can lash into us.

 

Such a dark view of God, in many cases, is rooted in the experiences of some who had earthly fathers just like that. Mean-spirited. Critical. Always finding fault. Nothing they ever could do was good enough for their earthly father. And so, for many, they transfer their childhood experiences with their earthly father to their heavenly Father. And Satan, having planted that lie about their heavenly father in their minds, he reaps a damaged soul who cowers from the One whose arms are spread apart on that wooden beam, inviting them into His embrace.

 

Jesus, through the ages, even to this very day, invites all of us, each of us, into His embrace.

 

Many years ago, when I was stationed with the navy in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, I lived with two other guys in a two-bedroom house. Neither Jeff or Gary were Christians, but of the two, Jeff was the atheist. He always found a reason to poke fun at my faith.

 

One Sunday morning as I dressed for church service at the base chapel, Jeff asked, “Hey, where’re you going? On a date?”

 

I remember being taken aback with the question. In all my years as a Christian, I’d never thought of going to church as going on a date with the Lover of my soul. But with Jeff’s question came the sudden realization – yes, I AM going on a date. I am meeting my Bridegroom, my Lover, my Lord, my best Friend.

 

And that is what I told him: “Yes, I am going on a date to meet Jesus.”

 

And the point of my story? You and I are betrothed to our Lord Jesus Christ. You and I are the Bride of Christ. Let me remind you of only one passage of Scripture that speaks of our marital relationship with our Savior. It’s from Ephesians 5:

 

“So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5:28-33)

 

This biblical principal of our marriage to our earthly spouse forms the basis of the God-centered relationship with Christ by which, and from which, we should prepare our hearts for His coming – that being the love and devotion of a bride for her beloved.

 

What faithful bride-to-be would corrupt herself with another man? What faithful bride-to-be would live in a morally cavalier fashion? The answer is, of course, none. All brides in love with their groom keep themselves morally pure, perfecting their own holiness in anticipation of being joined with her beloved.

 

And THAT is the reason we want to live holy lives – not out of fear, but so we can please our Groom because we love Him. We adore Him. We want to exalt Him.

 

So, what are some ways in which we can conduct our lives so that we are preparing ourselves for the Lord, moving toward holiness and pleasing our Groom? How might we better cleanse ourselves of all defilements of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear and reverence of the Lord? The answer is not as difficult to uncover as one might think. Much of it rests in the principal behind this simple song we’ve sung to children: O be careful little eyes what you see. O be careful little ears what you hear.

 

You’ve heard the axion: Garbage in – Garbage out. Or as St. Paul warned in Galatians 6:7-8) “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

 

Can we watch television shows or movies that promote violence, anger, hatred, greed, and lusts and not be dirtied or burned? Can we night after night watch the news and not find our attitudes becoming consumed with anger and frustration? We can’t walk through mud and not get our shoes dirty. We can’t put our hand onto a hot stove and not be burned.

 

There is a better way to live. A better way to prepare ourselves for our Groom. A better way this Advent season – and throughout the year – to prepare our hearts for our Lord.

 

What is that? Fall deeper in love with Jesus. Keep seeking, every day, keep seeking the Holy Spirit to draw you to fall deeper in love with Jesus.

Roman Catholic priest, Fr. Pedro Arrupe, learned the answer to the question we’ve been looking at this afternoon: How can we prepare ourselves afresh for the Lord’s Advent into our hearts? Here is what you and I need to discover ourselves:

 

Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love and it will decide everything.

Falling more deeply in love with our Groom is the only right answer to the question, “How can we better prepare ourselves for His coming afresh into our hearts?” And how do we fall deeper in love with Jesus? In much the same way as any bride learns to fall more deeply in love her spouse:

 

Number one (and these are not in any particular order): Turn off the TV. Turn off the computer. Open your Bible. Read it slowly. This is not a sprint, to see how much of it you can read in a sitting, or a month, or even a year. Meditate, ruminate on what you are reading.

 

You might find it helpful to keep a notebook with you and write out in long hand what the Lord teaches you. Write out any verse that speaks to you, and then spend some time praying back to God what He just showed you in scripture.

 

For example, this passage in Psalm 119 caught my attention: “With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. (Psalm 119:10-11)

 

And so, I prayed: “Lord, do not let me wander from your commandments. Help me to treasure your word in my heart.”

 

Another time I read this verse in Luke 6:  “It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles.”

 

So, I prayed, “Lord, I also want to always be Your disciple, always sitting at Your feet and learning from You. Please always draw me to Yourself that I might always learn from You.”

 

Number two: Be quick to repent. Ask the Holy Spirit to train your spiritual ears to better hear His voice, and when He tells you that you have done something wrong, repent. And determine with His help to not do it again.

 

Number three: Be quick to FORGIVE others who have hurt you, or offended you, or used you. If you’ve consistently read your Bible over the years you know as well as I do, Jesus REQUIRES us to forgive others their sins against us. It was He who taught His disciples to pray: Forgive us our SINS AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US (Matthew 6:12). He then added two verses later: For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. (Matthew 6:14-15)

Number four: Try to make a conscious effort through the day, and especially at the end of the day, to thank God for the big things and the little things that happened in your day.

We have entered the season of Advent. Yes, many of you prepare your hearts every day through the year for the coming of our Lord. But you and I can still do better But perhaps some here do not continually seek throughout the year to prepare your heart for a deeper relationship with the Lord. Well, you can do better. Why not start today, on this first Sunday of Advent?