Jesus Is Coming [27mb]

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This is a sermon given by guest minister, Rev. Russ Smith, regarding the second coming of Christ. This sermon ties Advent with the expectation of Jesus' second coming.

Prepare the Way of the Lord [27mb]

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A sermon based on the references in Scripture that compare John the Baptist to the O.T. prophecies regarding the "voice in the wilderness" that was to precede the Messiah.

Written Excerpts:

PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD

Mark 1:2-4 “As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.” ³ “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’” ⁴ John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”

Introduction:

Mark quotes from the prophets Malachi (3:1) and Isaiah (40:3). Mark is clearly using these prophecies in direct reference to John the Baptist and is identifying him as the messenger sent by God to help prepare the way of the Lord, and the coming of the Messiah.

Notice these other Scriptures:

Matthew 3:1-3 “¹In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ²and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” ³For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’”

Matt. 11:7-10 (Jesus speaking) ⁷ Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John… ¹⁰ “For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’

Luke 1:13-17 “¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John...  ¹⁷He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

John 1:21-23 “²¹And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²²Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” ²³He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,”’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

Both Matthew and Jesus identified John the Baptist as the one who fulfilled the prophecies of Malachi and Isaiah.

Luke records the conversation that Zacharias had with the angel Gabriel. Gabriel states that the son of Zacharias (John the Baptist) will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah. Later on in the same chapter, verse 76, Zacharias bursts forth in prophesying about John’s ministry and he says, “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways…

Then we notice in the Gospel of John that some people ask John the Baptist point blank, “Are you Elijah?” and he denies it. Yet, he does confirm that he is “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’”

Transition: We have looked at all these references that confirm the connection between these OT prophecies and the life and ministry of John the Baptist. But, the important thing we want to consider for a little while today is the mission and the message of this predicted messenger.

I. The Mission of the Messenger

“I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.”

The mission of the messenger was to prepare the way of the Lord.

What does it mean to prepare the way?

“Prepare” – (Hebrew Lexicon, Brown, Driver, & Briggs) “Turn away, put out of the way; hence make clear or free from obstacles.”  (Keil &Delitsch) “The crier is like the outrider of a king, who takes care that the way by which the king is to go shall be put into good condition.” (Vine) “It is like a king’s courier appointed to see that his way is put in good condition.” 

In other words, it was the messenger’s responsibility to make the way of the king more accessible and to make the people more acceptable. He was to persuade people to do something they would not normally be inclined to do – make preparations for a visit from the king.

When we view John the Baptist as the fulfillment of these prophecies, we understand that he was sent by God to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah, the King of kings.

John faithfully fulfilled his role in preparing the people for the coming of the Lord. He diminished his own role while exalting the role of Christ. He preferred Christ over himself. He uplifted the mission and ministry of Christ. He proclaimed the foundational message necessary to prepare for Jesus Christ.

There is a lesson here for all of us. We have all been commissioned as disciples of Jesus Christ to tell others about His salvation and about His return in glory. Our mission is not to exalt ourselves or promote our own agendas and programs. Our mission is to help as many people prepare for the coming of Jesus as we possibly can.

II. The Message of the Messenger.

 The message of the messenger was very similar to his mission. Just as he was to prepare the way of the Lord himself, he was also commissioned to tell others to do the same.

A. “Prepare the way of the Lord.”

As we noted earlier, the word “prepare” means to put out of the way; make the path clear from obstacles.

B. “Make His paths straight.”

Make straight means to make smooth, straight or even. The phrase or concept is also used in Scripture in an ethical sense. For example, Prov. 9:15 [the foolish woman seeks to trap] “… those who go straight on their way.”

Preparing the way of the Lord and making His paths straight are two phrases that basically emphasize the same truth.

John the Baptist was a prophetic voice in the physical wilderness as well as a moral / spiritual wilderness. He stood out in stark contrast from the secular world and the religious world of his time. His message was a message of admonition for the people to do whatever was necessary to prepare for the One who was soon to come.

How does one prepare the way of the Lord and make His paths straight?

I believe the best clue we have for the answer to this question is to take a look at the ministry of John the Baptist. He preached a message of repentance. Luke 3:3b “…preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” When we look at John’s commission and compare that with his message, we conclude that repentance was apparently the way that the people were to prepare for the coming of the Lord.

Genuine, heart-felt, and sincere repentance is the only way to prepare one’s heart and life for God to come. It is the only way to clear things out that might obstruct the free flow of God’s Spirit in our hearts and lives. It is the only way to straighten out what is crooked and perverse in our lives. Genuine repentance means having a complete change of thinking about our behavior, our conduct and our attitudes.

True repentance comes as a result of genuine godly sorrow for our sins that have contributed to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in our behalf. (2 Cor. 7:10)

Repentance is not the same thing as asking for God’s forgiveness. Anyone who has repented will certainly want God’s forgiveness for the sins that have nailed Jesus to the cross. However, there are some that have ask for forgiveness but they have not truly repented. There are people who ask God to forgive their sins, but then keep right on committing the same sins over and over, having little or no intention of ever changing.  

Repentance implies having a true understanding of how much our sin offends a holy God and how desperately we need His cleansing and His power to live pleasing in His sight. Genuine repentance inevitably leads to a genuine conversion – a life transformed by grace.

Conclusion:

John the Baptist suddenly appears on the scene out in the wilderness area preaching a message of repentance for the remission of sins for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He testified that he was the voice in the wilderness to prepare the way for the Lord. He also testified that the same One who sent him to baptize was the One who identified the Son of God for him. (Jn. 1:23, 33-34)

John’s message was essentially this: the way you must get ready for the Lord’s coming is to repent. John was preaching his message 2,000 years ago for the first coming of Christ. Today we are revisiting his message as we once again celebrate the first coming of the Messiah, but at the same time making sure we are getting prepared for His second coming.

Just as certainly as He came the first time, so He will come the second time. Just as there were some who were completely unprepared and unaware of His first coming, so there will be those who are unprepared for His second coming. If repentance was necessary for people to be prepared for His first coming, then repentance is certainly an important step in order to be prepared for His second coming.

The way I see it, dear friends, it is not my job to make you feel good about yourself or feel comfortable. As a servant of God and a minister of the Gospel, it is my job to help people get prepared for the coming of the Lord. I am confident that one of the most important ways for anyone to get prepared to meet the Lord is to have a moment of genuine repentance that leads to true faith and trust in Jesus.

This Christmas season we are all thinking about the first appearance of the Son of God. There is no better time to turn our thoughts to His second coming and our need to be ready to meet Him.

Our closing hymn today is a Christmas hymn that emphasizes the attitude of one who has prepared his heart for the Lord: Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

Thank God for His Gift [25mb]

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This is a sermon based on 2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

Written Excerpts:

Introduction: In thinking about this service and seeking the Lord’s guidance for the message today, I was drawn to this passage of Scripture because it emphasizes both the theme of thanksgiving and the theme of gift-giving. I felt that this would be appropriate to use for this Sunday that immediately follows Thanksgiving  and anticipates Advent.

If you look at this chapter, the words thanks and thanksgiving occur three times in these closing verses of the chapter. The expression of gratitude is definitely on the Apostle’s mind. We will be looking at the reasons for this in just a moment. Then, in the last verse, Paul erupts into his own expression of thanks to the Lord for His gift that is “unspeakable” (i.e. indescribable; “wonder beyond description” – A.T. Robertson)

I believe that the gift that Paul is speaking about here is the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, it certainly seems that what we have here is a direct connection between the practice of giving thanks unto God, and the Incarnation of Jesus Christ in which God is giving His gift unto us.

Transition:    Let us look at the message of the Apostle in this chapter to discover the reasons that thanks is being offered to God.

I. Thanks is offered because of the generous gifts of believers.

v. 11 (NASB) – “you will be enriched in everything for all liberality [generosity], which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. 

v. 12 – For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.

Paul proclaims that the generosity of the Christians in the region around Corinth will produce thanksgiving to God. He states that when the believers in Jerusalem see what their brothers and sisters have done, they will not only be thankful to them, but they will also direct their thanks to God who provided the blessings and prompted or motivated the generosity.

The writer, Matthew Henry, points out that there are three main principles for giving that are outlined by the Apostle here in chapter nine. When these principles are followed, then the result will be an abundance of thanks offered up to God.

A. Christians should give bountifully.

v. 5 – “Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.”

The believers in Corinth are reminded that their gift being prepared for the believers in Jerusalem was to be a gift given bountifully or generously and not being tight-fisted or giving grudgingly.

The image that comes to my mind when I read these verses is a contrast between two kinds of givers. One kind is the man who scoops down into his barrel of grain and gathers all that his arms can hold and then throws his arms wide open to unload the grain into the empty sack of the waiting neighbor. The other kind of giver is the man that grabs a handful of grain and opens it just enough to allow the grains to slip out in a small stream into the waiting hand of the needy neighbor. One is generously giving out of his abundant resources provided by God, while the other is barely letting go of what he must to satisfy his conscience.

B. Christians should give deliberately.

v. 7a – “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give;”

“purposeth” – compound word, “before” and “choose”, thus choose before; as in preferring one thing over another, or to purpose or resolve beforehand. (Complete Word Study Dict on NT)

Unless a person plans and purposes to be generous, it will not happen. Helping out those in need is not something that generally happens accidentally or coincidentally, but it is usually done purposefully and intentionally. This implies that we can and should learn to develop a habit and practice of generosity toward the needs of others.

C. Christians should give freely and cheerfully.

v. 7b – “…not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

(Adam Clarke) – The Jews had in the temple two chests for alms; the one was of what was necessary, i.e. what the law required, the other was of the free-will offerings. To escape perdition some would grudgingly give what necessity obliged them; others would give cheerfully, for the love of God, and through pity to the poor.

Paul is reminding the Corinthian believers that when they give for the needs of others they should do so with a cheerful spirit. There is plenty more that the Apostle says in this chapter about the practice of benevolence and generosity, but we have covered some of the main points.

Looking again at vv. 11-12, we see that Paul is declaring that when God’s people give to the needs of others in God’s way, then those who have watched it and those who have received it will naturally respond by giving thanks to God who motivated it all through His divine grace.

II. Thanks is offered because of the indescribable gift of God.

As I read through these verses and came down to the last verse of the chapter, it seems to me that while Paul is discussing all about generosity and deliberate, cheerful giving for the Christian believers in Jerusalem, he is suddenly reminded of how much this relates to the wonderful gift God has given to us.

In verse 13 he states that because of this experience of generous giving, the Christians are glorifying God because the Greeks have demonstrated their submission and obedience to Christ through their generosity. In verse 14 he declares that these same Christians are praying for an over abundance of God’s grace to be granted to the Greeks. As he speaks of these experiences, he suddenly connects these events and descriptions to the overwhelming and indescribable gift of God.

Most commentators say that this gift that Paul is referring to here is the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. Adam Clarke, on the other hand, says that the specific meaning of “gift” refers back to the word “grace” in the previous verse. In other words, he is declaring the over abundance of grace is the gift that cannot be described in human words.

Even if Clarke is correct, we must recognize that this grace granted to the Corinthian believers is only because of Jesus Christ who is the original gift from God.

Conclusion:

We give thanks to God, says Paul, for His wonderful, marvelous gift that cannot be adequately described in human language. There is an unbroken connection between God’s gift of His Son to humanity and our resulting gratitude that leads us to be generous toward others just as God has been toward us.

That generosity expressed through us toward others produces more thanksgiving and gratitude to God for all that He is doing, which reminds us again of how much He has already done for us, and on and on…

In our closing song, “Tell Me the Story of Jesus” we emphasize the gift of God in giving His Son to provide our redemption.

Let us sing with gratitude and then live it out in generosity.