The Carol of Christmas Series - Week 4 - “The Light is Coming”

 Like a lot of towns across the U.S., in the town I grew up in, we had a cul-de-sac, that at Christmas time, we called Candy Cane Lane. It was right behind our local hardware store, and when Christmas came around, every house was lit up. It my town there weren’t a lot of street lights, but in the month of December that little turn around, was as bright as day, with every house participating. They provided candy canes and hot chocolate for those that were willing to take the time and walk the five or six houses that made up the sub-neighborhood. Even Santa was known to make an appearance a few days before Christmas. It was one of the things I looked forwarded to as a kid. As I got older, we didn’t do it a lot, and as a teenager, I don’t know if we did it at all, but I remember it still, and it’s one of those Christmas memories that is lodged in my mind.

And it’s lights at Christmas that brings us to our final Carol of Christmas where we are going to start in Isaiah 49:6 to look at the past of Christmas. And as we open up to Isaiah 49:6, let’s look back at the three other carols that we’ve talked about so far.

We’re calling this series the Carol of Christmas because of Charles Dickens story, A Christmas Carol. In that story he presents the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future. So we’ve been talking about how the true Christmas story of God coming to earth to wrap himself in human flesh because his creation is on a path to eternal destruction and he wants to save it because they can’t save himself, and he does this by living the perfect obedient life we were created to live, and then died as a sacrifice in our place, rising from the dead to not only show the sacrifice would cover our sins, but also open the way to eternal life. And whoever trusts in Jesus as Savior, moving forward in obedient living, will have eternal life. This is the true Christmas story, with it’s own past, present, and future.

The first past that we talked about, is that the first hope in the Bible, when the serpent, who is the devil, is cursed, God lets us know that an offspring will be born who will have hostility with the serpent, and will overcome it. This offspring is Jesus, the cross is the hostility, the resurrection is one part o the victory, but the final crushing of the serpent’s head is in the future, when Jesus returns. So we must accept him now while we can, and live in obedience as we look forward to his second arrival.

The second past of Christmas that we talked about, was that the offspring would also usher in a kingdom. But when Jesus arrived, he made it clear that this kingdom was one that went forward on the message of his death on the cross, his resurrection, and how that work transforms the lives of his people. It is a kingdom unlike any kingdom of the earth, because it is based on the holy love of God for humanity, and not on the power makes right mentality of humans. At Jesus’ return, this kingdom will be fully established will all rebellion and sin put away. So we must accept Jesus as Savior, so that we will be citizens of his kingdom.

The final past we talked about last week was how creation praises and glorifies God by acting out it’s created role. This creation, as represented by the Bethlehem star, points to it’s Creator’s arrival in the manger, and its waiting in eager anticipation for the return of Jesus, when it will not only be freed from the bondage our sin placed on it, but also that it may be recreated into something beyond imagination. And until the day that Jesus returns, we must first accept him as Savior so his return will be joyful for us, who are walking in submission now to his will, because it’s only in his will that we will experience true fulfillment. And we must share his work with others that they too will enter his kingdom at his return, leading creation in the praise of God because we were made to worship him and he is deserving of that worship.

With those three weeks out of the way, let’s now turn to the book of Isaiah, chapter 49, verse 6, where we read, “he says: ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’”

This verse is part of what’s known as the Servant Songs of Isaiah. They’re a series of songs from Isaiah 42 into the fifties, about God’s chosen servant; these begin with Israel but change to focus on one individual. Now if we follow the thread of the child in Isaiah chapters 7 and 9, we’ll realize that the child mentioned there, is the servant that appears in the servant songs. In what we just read, God is speaking of this servant as not only being a Savior for Israel, but for all the peoples of the earth. The language that’s used here is, light for the nations. This child who in chapter seven was born of a virgin, who, in chapter 9, is revealed as God himself come down, will not only save Israel from it’s sins and establish an eternal kingdom, but will be light to the other nations, or people groups, of the world to know where their sins may also be forgiven.

The idea that God is not just the God of the Israelites, but of the whole world isn’t a new concept, but rather is the point of Israel as a nation. See, when we first open the Bible, we’ll read 11 chapters about God’s relationship with humanity as a whole from creation, to fall, to judgment, and then dispersion across the world. But God’s plan, that we got our first hint in week one back in Genesis 3:15, is that God wants to deal with the sins of humanity as a whole, not just the sins of a single people group. But God’s plan to bring about this forgiveness of sin, uses a single group of people. So from Genesis 12 onward, he establishes the nation of Israel for the purpose of forgiveness for humanity. One of the purposes of Isaiah’s writings is to let us know the focal point of this plan, in God coming down to take on human flesh, that he may be the light that points humanity away from their rebellious actions and back to their Creator. This is our past moment of Christmas, that God himself with be a light for all people in the world.

So when we go to Jesus’ story, what are we told in the opening of John’s Gospel starting in chapter one, verse 1? We read this, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

We’re told that Jesus’ life is the light of men, meaning that as we go through this world, we are in darkness if we are separated from the God who made us. But Jesus is light that breaks through the darkness that surrounds us. This is why later on in John chapter 8, verse 12, we read, “12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” By saying this, Jesus is pointing back to Isaiah 49:6 because he is the servant who brings light to the world; John recognizes this and declares that Jesus gives light to the world. 

But in John’s opening of his book were told that we must choose this light, we must accept Jesus. When we receive his light, we must receive his work, which means we must agree with God that we are sinners in need of a Savior. That means that we have acted in rebellion against God, but lying, cheating, stealing, dishonoring, holding anger and hatred in our hearts towards another, and a myriad of other things. And all of us are in the same darkness of sin, and we can’t break ourselves free of it. It’s almost as if we breed darkness, every time we engage in the types of things that God says are evil. When we desire what we don’t have, when we connive to get what we haven’t earned, when we are envious of what other’s gain, when hurt to get what we think we need, we exasperate the darkness of sin around us. And once we’ve started producing that darkness, we can never do enough good, love enough people, fix our own life enough to be better, because one ounce of darkness is thicker than the thickest fog, and our best with out God, is little more that a momentary flicker of light in a sea of endless dark. And so we need a powerful light to break through and dispel the darkness, not just around us but through us as well. That’s what Jesus does through his work on the cross and his resurrection, and whoever accepts that work, is brought out of darkness and into God’s light.

Jesus’ disciple Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:8-14, “8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’”

Paul’s call, to awake o sleeper that Jesus would shine on us, is to all of us this Christmas. To the one who hasn’t accepted Jesus as Savior, you are being called out of your darkness and into Jesus’ light. To awake from sin’s death grip, to Jesus’ eternal life. Don’t let another Christmas go by without walking in the light of God who came down, who rescues from sin, rebellion, and eternal destruction. Because there is a future to the Christmas story.

In the last book of the Bible, Revelation chapter 21, starting in verse 23, we read, “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.”

When Jesus returns and establishes his kingdom, there will be a time when his light will illuminate all things. All nations will walk under Jesus’ light, but only those who have accepted Jesus as Savior, will be able to enter his city. Those who have accepted him before his return, will be allowed in that city of light, while all others will be shut out. And if you think that’s a horrible thought, that’s why God has worked for thousands of years to bring us out of darkness into his light.  It’s why he says things like 2 Peter 3:9, “9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” But like all things, and end will come and those who do not choose to repent and come to Jesus will forever be in darkness. As Jesus himself states in Matthew 22:13, “Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

It will not be a good time for those who haven’t accepted, and that’s why the message of Christmas is so important and why we must take seriously it’s call to follow the God who came down and wrapped himself in our flesh, that he may be a sacrifice for us, to forgive our sin and rebellion, and lead us into eternal life. 

And that eternal life is described to us as John is shown it in chapter 22 of the book of Revelation, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”

This Christmas, Jesus is calling us our of darkness and into his light. If you haven’t accepted Jesus as Savior, now is the time. We must accept that we are sinners, rebellious to God’s will, and cannot fix it on our own. But Christmas tells us that God himself came to fix the situation; he does this by taking on human flesh living like us, but without being in rebellion. He then dies on the cross, because death is the result of sin. But because he never sinned, his sacrifice is credited to us if we accept him as Savior. When we accept him as Savior, we are ushered into his resurrected eternal life. That life starts today, and as we grow in our obedience to him, we await his return, when the light of God, illuminates all the world for eternity.

My challenge this week is, if you haven’t accepted Jesus as Savior, don’t let another Christmas pass you by. A simple talk with God begins the journey, maybe something like this, “God I know I sin and am in rebellion, I realize I can’t fix it, but I’ve heard that you sacrificed yourself on the cross that I may be forgiven, I accept that forgiveness, and I am ready to be brought into the light of your kingdom, and become obedient to you." The words don’t save you, it’s his work, and our hearts being turned to Jesus. Let that be the gift of God to you at this Christmas time.

To those of us that have accepted Jesus as Savior, what are we waiting for? Let us share the message of Christmas with others, because there will come a day, when we can’t; either by our own death, or his return. Let us not weary of our calling to share the Christmas story. So my challenge for you is to write a Christmas card, with the four Carols of Christmas that we’ve talked about these last four weeks: hope that Jesus will fix sin, excitement at his coming kingdom, worship of the Creator, and light of the Savior. 

Let us all share and experience the story of Christmas, that God came to us when we were lost, and brings us to himself, if we let him. Amen.

The Carol of Christmas Series - Week 3 - “The Song of the Creation”

  Most of us have those favorite movies we like to watch at Christmas, or those favorite stories we like to tell, or those songs we like to sing. One of my favorite modern Christmas songs is “How Many Kings” by a band named Downhere. The song is from the perceptive of the Magi, who themselves are kingly, and they "follow the star to a place unexpected.” They “bring [their] gifts for the newborn Savior,” and ask the question, “is this who we’ve waited for?” But the chorus brings to the surface lordship and the lengths kings and great people will go for their subjects. The Chorus reads, 

“How many kings step down from their thrones?

How many lords have abandoned their homes?

How many greats have become the least for me?

And how many gods have poured out their hearts

To romance a world that is torn all apart?

How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Only one did that for me”

The reality is, the significance of the Christmas story, of God the Son stepping down from his throne, self-restricting himself in his creation’s flesh (John 1), to then allow his creation to crucify him, so that he might rise from the dead to provide the way to eternal life, cannot be underscored enough, because there is no equivalent to such an act. No equivalent in religion, mythology, philosophy, science, or history. The reason is, is because no one, god or man, restricts their power to become a lowly creature or commoner for the purpose of raising up the very object of their destruction to themselves, all while doing it while the object is still an enemy.

Yet the Creator of the world does this, and the answer to the songs questions of, “how many kings…how many lords, how many greats…how many gods…how many fathers…” would do such a thing, is one, Jesus. And in response to this, what should our response be? The glorifying of the Creator who did these things. 

And it’s this idea of giving praise and honor to God for all he is and all he does, that brings us back to our third week in our Carol of Christmas series where we’re going back to a blink and you’ll miss it prophetic word in the book of Numbers, chapter 24 verse 17. And as we open up to Numbers 24:17, let’s look back at where we are in our series.

In our first week, we talked about how the first ray of hope in the Scriptures is spoken to the serpent. God speaks of the offspring of the woman having hostility with the serpent, until one day the offspring will overcome that serpent. We then followed that offspring language through the Old Testament to the New, where we saw that this offspring was Jesus. It was through the cross that the serpent struck at the offspring, but Jesus overcame the cross through his resurrection. The final nail in the serpent’s coffin, will eventually come at the time when Jesus returns. It will be then that the prophecy of that first hope will come to it’s fulfillment. Until that day, we are first to accept Jesus’ work on the cross, and then live our lives in submission to him.

In our second week, we talked about how the offspring will establish a kingdom. But unlike the kingdoms of this world that are established through power, Jesus’ kingdom marches on the Gospel work of his cross and resurrection, and on the transformation that occurs in the lives of those who put their trust in him. That kingdom will then come to it’s fulfillment at Jesus’ return and will endure for eternity.

With those two carol’s of Christmas in mind, let’s read together from Numbers 24:17. “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.”

Last week we talked about Jesus being the King and how he shoulders the weight of that kingdom. This kingdom idea, is here in this verse as well. The scepter which will rise out of Israel is speaking of a king’s authority to rule their kingdom. And since we covered that last week, we’re actually looking to another part of the verse, that’s a blink and you’ll miss it moment. With the rising of a scepter, a star rises too.

The star reflects the worship of creation. Psalm 19:1-6 reads, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, 5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. 6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.”

The worship of creation to it’s Creator, is that as it does the things that God created it to perform, it brings glory and honor to him. The same could be said of the sculptor, who brings a figure out of the stone. Or the painter who takes the colors and creates a portrait. Or the architect who designs the building, and the contractor who brings it from page to the physical. When these artists are done, their work speaks to how gifted they are, and they are praised for that giftedness. Creation declares the work of God’s hand in that he charts the course of the stars and planets. It is God who sets the lives of animals and people. It is God who paints the morning sunrise and it’s setting over the horizon. When the landscape or the newborn takes our breath away, we are experiencing the Artist of creation’s work. And for the offspring that would come from Eve, it would be a star that would point to his arrival. That is the past of Christmas, a star which points to it’s Creator’s arrival.

From the past of the Christmas story, to it’s event, we read of this star that arises in Matthew 2:1-2, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’”

These wise men understood the star of Numbers to not be simply a metaphor, but a true physical star. And it guided them to Jerusalem where they began to look for the King of the Jews. What’s interesting in this passages is that they mention that their desire is to worship this king. Prophetically we know the offspring must be God come down, we’ve looked at that for the last two weeks, but through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Matthew picks up on this detail and relays events in Jesus’ life that bring this worship up.

Worship happens nine times in the Gospel of Matthew. First it’s the magi who desire to rightly worship the king. The next time worship is spoken about it’s by Herod, who says he wants to worship, but in fact is desiring to kill his perceived usurper. Following this, the devil calls Jesus to worship him, to which Jesus makes the statement that only God is worthy of worship. From here on out, worship is given to Jesus four out of the five remaining times, with the one time it’s not being directed at Jesus, is when Jesus tells the religious people that they worship in vain. 

But it’s not just Matthew. In the Gospel of Luke, as Jesus approaches Jerusalem on what is called the triumphal entry, people are praising God for Jesus. This prompts the religious leaders to call on Jesus to stop them. We get Jesus’ response in Luke 19:40, “He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.’” Again, letting us know that creation glorifies God, and will do so even if humanity is silent. 

This is where we are right now. We are in the time of the Christmas event, where we must cry out in worship of the God who came to take on human flesh, who died upon a cross to set people free from sin, and who was raised from the dead ushering in eternal life for all those who would accept it. But there’s a future to the Christmas event too.

We get this future event that deals with how creation will look in Revelation 21:1, and 22-23 where we read, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more…22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”

In the future when Jesus returns, God is going to radically change how creation works. It’s truly inconceivable for us to fully grasp what lies ahead in the new creation. A new earth and a new heaven will be created; the seas as we know them will be gone. We’re told that the sun and the moon as we know them will no longer be needed, because God himself will be the light by which we live. How exactly will that look? Will there be stars or will there be a completely new set of cosmological laws? Will we be able to fully explore the new universe that God will create? Will we be fellow artists as he redesigns his creation?

However God determines to recreate, what we do know is that we will be in unison with God’s creation in worshiping the King of kings. And what a new song that will be, because right now creation sits groaning for the chance to let loose it’s full song of worship. As Paul states in Romans 8:19-22, "19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”

So until that day when the new creation comes, we must be the voice that worships the King. We must live the lives that point to his redeeming work. Let us take our rightful place as the choir of God and proclaim his great name to the nations. This is why I’ll say, let us sing so great that the angels hush to enjoy our song to the Lord. Because I know how great it is to listen to the praise of God’s people back to their Savior. There are times when I just close my eyes and listen as this congregation sings, because it is the sound that echoes throughout God’s creation wrapped up in a moment of time. 

My challenge for you this week is to find a Christmas song that glorifies God. Take time and read through the lyrics, understand the truth that they speak about God. Then once you’re done, sing the song, louder than you have ever done before, as if you have a solo for the choir of heaven and God’s eagerly anticipating your part as he sits in his front row seat. 

Let us sing and point to the Lord this Christmas , as every aspect of creation desires too. Amen.

The Carol of Christmas Series - Week 2 - “The King’s Home Comin

  One of the most surefire ways to hit you in the feels is to watch people being reunited at Christmas. Especially when the war in Afghanistan and Iraq was in fully swing, to see a soldier returning home, wells up a sense of hope and joy for both that family and others.

But the one homecoming that gets me at the heart, is when a dog sees their owner again. Because we as individuals may embrace each other after a long separation, but that usually only lasts until it’s normal to see each other on a regular basis once again. But for dogs, no matter if it’s ten minutes, or ten months, they’ll be just as excited at you’ve return. 

And it’s this idea of return that brings us back to our Christmas series, where we’ll be picking it up in one of the most iconic Christmas passages, Isaiah 9:6 & 7. And as we open up to Isiah 9:6, let’s bring back to our minds what we talked about last week. 

In the first week of our Carol of Christmas series, we talked about Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and how it’s main emphasis is about the past, present, and future of Christmas. We then talked about how the real Christmas story also has aspects of a past, present, and future. It’s here that when began to discussion the first of four of these moments when we talked about God’s first hope for humanity. In the midst of humanity’s fall, God gives hope that the offspring of the woman would overcome the serpent. We then briefly followed that prophecy of an offspring through the Old Testament until we came to it’s realization in Jesus, who overcame the serpent on the cross. We then talked about how we are living in that present victory still, but how the full victory is still to come when Jesus returns. Then we talked about how until Jesus returns, we must first accept his work on the cross, and submit to God so as to resist the serpent until it’s final defeat.

We know turn our attention to another past, present, and future of Christmas that begins in Isaiah 9:6-7, so let’s read together. “6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

In this past prophecy of the Christmas event, we’re again connected to that offspring idea from last week. It’s not the same language as Genesis 3:15, but the subject is still in full view here. Yet we’re given a little more detail about what this child will be doing and an insight into who he is. The child will be a boy, narrowing down the population by half, but emphasizing his humanity in that he will be born. Yet he will also be divine, being called Mighty God, with emphasis upon his divine wisdom, his eternal nature, and his bringing of peace. And his work, his kingdom will be brought about. This boy will bear the weight of the government upon himself, he will sit in the lineage of his ancestor David, and the kingdom he will reign over will be one that holds justice and righteousness for all eternity. And it will be God who will do all of this, because it is God himself who will come to earth as this boy.

This prophetic word is written around the mid 700s BC, and in roughly 700 years it would begin to be fulfilled on that first Christmas night.

It was Mary who was found to be with child without knowing a man. She would then give birth to a son, who would go on to astound the teachers of the law at an earlier age, showing he possessed divine wisdom. He would teach peace and point to his nature as the God who came down. This is what brought the religious teachers against him. A man who claimed to be God was blasphemous if it were not true. And so they arrested him in the dark, brought lies against him, and carried him off to the Roman authorities to be crucified. It was there that Jesus was confronted by the Roman governor Pilate in John 18. Starting in verse 33 we read their conversation. "33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ 34 Jesus answered, ‘Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?’ 35 Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?’ 36 Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.’ 37 Then Pilate said to him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.’”

In this moment, the world government collides with the Eternal Ruler. Pilate, who represents Rome’s rule, asks if Jesus is indeed a king. After having his own question answered, Jesus responds in the affirmative. But it’s not a rulership like Pilate is thinking. Pilate would know his regional history and is probably thinking of rebellion, like in the case of the Maccabees, from which we get the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. So Pilate is probing to see if Jesus was trying to insight such a rebellion. And what does Jesus do? He alludes to the Isaiah 9:6-7 passage. Jesus was born for the purpose of being king, and he came into the world to bear witness to this truth and to call people to himself.

Yet, like we said last week, Jesus went to the cross. To the Romans it was one, if not the most, shameful way to die. They used it to punish those that would try to usurp Rome’s power and authority; a power and authority that was challenged by Jesus’ very presence. Yet in that moment Pilate had a moment of clarity, realizing that Jesus wasn’t like the rebels in the past, seeking to release him, and yet God’s plan to bring about the path to salvation still brought Jesus to the cross. Through that death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead, his kingdom began to march forward in the proclamation of the Gospel.

This is where we live, in the time where the kingdom of God is being proclaimed for all those who would turn from their sins and turn to the true king of the world, Jesus. Speaking of this kingdom, Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of people would die for Him.” 

This is the where the kingship of Jesus stands right now, but there is a future to this Christmas event. We read about this future fully established kingdom in Revelation 20:4-6, “4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.”

The Scriptures tell of a time when Jesus will return to fully establish his kingdom over all aspects of his creation. In the day, the Scriptures tell us in Philippians 2:10-11, “10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

This means all rebellion will be quelled and those who have trusted in Jesus as their Savior will be ushered into the eternal presence of their King and it will be a joyous day. But those who have not accepted Jesus as their Savior will find that their rejection, though it will be tolerated for a time, will eventually come to an end, and they will be judge into the eternal separation that the serpent from last week enters into. As Jesus himself states in Matthew 25:41, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

This is why the proclamation of the Gospel of the kingdom is so important to participate in. When we don’t take the command of Matthew 28:19-20 seriously, we are not taking the future kingdom of Jesus seriously. Christian, do you believe Jesus is coming back? Then you must take every opportunity that God gives you to be in prayer for the lost around you. We must take every opportunity to serve the hurting and abandoned. We must take every opportunity to share the message of Jesus with those who would listen. This is all done so that on that day when we see Jesus return in his full authority to rule for eternity, the joy of knowing we can hear the words of, “Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23),” and they will ring out and bring greater joy with them, because we have done what Jesus called us to do. 

This is where our challenge for this week begins; if you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior, today is the day. God is calling you out of your sin, that rebellion that we all have done and so fallen so far from God, and because it was so far and so deep, we ourselves could not get back. But God bridged the gap. He came down, wrapped himself in our flesh to walk like us in every way, except the rebellion. This is what Isaiah prophesied about, when he spoke of the child being born who was Mighty God. But to fix our rebellion, Jesus died, because death waits for us all, and not just a death of the body, but an eternal death that is an unimaginable hell of separation from everything good, because everything good comes from God, and we will be separated from him. Yet Jesus died, that we might not have eternal death, and now if we accept that we are sinners in need of a Savior, and if we accept his work for us, and move forward in following him, at his arrival we will be as joyous as when a loved one returns home for Christmas. Don’t let another Christmas go by, without calling on the Savior.

To the believer who has accepted Jesus as their personal Savior, we are called to share him and his kingdom, so let’s do it. I want to challenge you to accomplish three tasks this week. Pray for one person, someone who you may or may not have a close relationship with, but who is not a disciple of Jesus. Then serve one person who is not a believer; maybe make them a Christmas pie, or fix their leaky pipe. Finally share the message of Jesus, his death, resurrection, and return, with someone. It could be all for one person, or three, but take seriously the return of Jesus, by actively participating in his kingdom work.

Let us be a people who not just look forward to the return of Christ, but are active in it. Jesus stated in Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” In the Alliance we have a mantra, about this passage, “Bring back the King!” Let’s do our part in proclaiming the Gospel in word and deed so that may see the King of kings in his kingdom. Amen.

The Carol of Christmas Series - Week 1 - “The Crushing”

 

“Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge’s name was good upon ‘Change for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a doornail.”

These are the iconic opening lines to the iconic Christmas story by Charles Dickens. Ever year as a tradition growing up, my family would watch Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol. As my wife and I started our own family, we started a similar tradition of watching the Muppet’s Christmas Carol. This story came at a time when Christmas was becoming commercialized and losing it’s meaning. One one side was the religious nature of Christmas, with Christmas mass and other religious actives surrounding the holiday. On the other side was the stores full of things to buy, and much like it is today, it was more about receiving than giving. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens tries to take hold of both sides, and bring them together. The gift of Jesus by God the Father so that the bondage of sin would be broken and by which humanity could now enter into a right relationship with God and their fellow man, was coupled with the idea that the things we do here on earth carry with us into eternity.

Most of us know the story. Ebenezer is a tight fisted financer, who doesn’t care for anyone. He is then visited by his old partner Jacob Marley who was dead, and yet appears to him with chains. Chains of greed and avarice that were forged by the evil actions he performed in his life. But an unknown entity, who is hinted at, but never mentioned outright, has granted Scrooge an opportunity to change, and so he would be visited by the three spirits of Christmas, past, present, and future. And in the end, his life is changed for the better. Leading to these words at the closing of the story, “Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.”

As I pondered this story, it was brought to my mind that there are three parts to the Advent of Christ. When we talk about Christmas, we’re talking about God coming down from heaven to take on human flesh and walk with his creation, this is Advent, or arrival. But Jesus’ first Advent is more than just a lone moment in history. There’s actually three parts of Advent that we usually do not talk about during Christmas. Like the three spirits of Dickens’ story, there are three parts that make up Advent, the past, the moment of, and the future. 

So starting today, we are going to look at four fulfillments of the Christmas story and with each fulfillment, the past, present and future of those fulfillments. So if you would, open you Bibles with me to the first book of the Bible, Genesis chapter 3, and let’s read together verse 15.

Genesis 3:15 reads, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

This verse is considered the first prophecy of the good news of Jesus. Humanity just fell from their perfect position. In what we just read, they are finding out how this fall will work out. In this verse, God first speaks to the serpent who deceived the woman Eve into rebelling against God’s command to not eat the fruit of a specific tree. Yet in the very cruse that God places on the serpent, he interjects a ray of hope. The serpent, who is the fallen angel Satan, will crawl on his belly, a sign that he too has fallen from his place of creation. Then serpent and the offspring of the woman will have a enmity or hostility towards one another. This serpent will bruise him, or as the word carries with it, try to make him unsuitable for God. But the offspring will fight back and and make the serpent unsuitable. 

And it’s this word offspring which is so important in the word of God, because this word begins to connect and provide a path for us to follow that moves us through to the first Advent. The Hebrew word zera (zeh’-rah) occurs 230 times in the Old Testament connecting the offspring of the women throughout the history of Israel. It connects it to Noah in Genesis 9:9, where God states, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you…” Then a few chapters later God speaks these words to Abraham in Genesis 12:7b, “…To your offspring I will give this land.” If we continue to follow this word and this offspring of Eve, we find the path again in Ruth 4:12, where we read, “may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.” The linage that this offspring leads to is King David. This is the prophetic word that sets the stage for the Christmas event.  

We can follow this path to Jesus, who asked the question of the religious leaders in Mark 12:35b, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David?” He asked this because the scholars, the theologians, and the average person on the street, understood that the Savior would come through the line of King David, because you could trace the offspring of Eve through that lineage. Because Jesus was from this Davidic line, Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:8, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel…” But it’s not just to David that Jesus is connected to, Paul points the Church back to that offspring of Eve. In Galatians 3:16 we read, “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ.” This brings us almost back to where we began. The whole of the Bible seeks to show us that it is Jesus who the offspring that was prophesied about in Genesis 3:15. 

It’s why we sing the Christmas hymn that states, “Offspring of a virgin’s womb.” The offspring spoken of, who would crush the serpent’s head, is the offspring that the whole of the Old Testament waits in anticipation for his birth, and whom we know as Jesus of Nazareth. 

The enmity, the hostility that Jesus and the serpent have for each other is taken to the cross, where the serpent believes he has won when Jesus’ lifeless and bloody body is taken down and put in a tomb. But it’s Jesus who overcomes when he rises three days later, with victory over not just the serpent, but sin and death as well. The Hebrew writer, writes of this hostility and victory words in second verse of their twelfth chapter, “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (12:2).”

This is the first Advent work of Jesus. It’s the place that we find ourselves in right now. We are living in the present time of the cross or that first Christmas, where we have the opportunity to accept Jesus’ work of overcoming and forgiving our sin, a time that might last for our whole life, or might end any moment. But there is a future fulfillment that the Bible speaks about in the final chapters of Scripture, that will see this hostility come to an end.

As John sees what will happen at the end of human history as we know it, we read his vision in Revelation 20:7-10, “7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Satan, that serpent of old that sought to deceive and destroy God’s creation, is finally dealt with by the offspring of prophecy. God himself gave hope in the moment of humanity’s  rebellion against their Creator, it was God himself who gave himself up for his creation by allowing it to crucify him, and it will be God himself who binds forever the rebel angel who began this whole story. 

We await this part of the story, as we await our Lord and Savior Jesus’s return. But until that great day, we must head the words of the Holy Spirit speaking through James, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (4:7).” We resit the devil’s call to follow Eve into deception, and we do this by submitting to God’s authority through his word. 

Like Scrooge who had the opportunity to break the chains that were destined for him in eternity, Jesus has broken the chains that hold us, that Satan desires we have bound on us, so that he won’t be bound alone in the lake of fire. 

God calls us to see his work through the whole of humanity history; from the moment we first sinned, to the overcoming of sin on the cross, to the final victory of our Lord over Eve’s deceiver in the near future, we are to seek God and be about his work. We must be sharing the Gospel, the good news of God’s great love and sacrifice for those in rebellion against him.

My challenge for you this week is this, God has been working, even in our lowest moments, to bring about his goodness in our lives. We must first accept art work through the cross. We must recognize that we, like Eve have fallen into sin and are in need of the Offspring to save us. We we recognize and accept God’s great mercy of the cross, where sin was dealt with, we can enter into God’s saving work. 

Once we accept that saving work, we enter into a right relationship with him, where we not submit to him for the rest of our lives. We then can share his work with others.

So let us share God’s work with the people around us who are hurting this Christmas season. To the check out person who has to deal with ungrateful customers, to the neighbor who’s life is falling apart, let us point them to the Offspring who saves and brings comfort.

Let us be a people who are grafted into the Offspring’s family and call others to that family this Christmas season. Amen.