[The following is the full manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 6th of December, 2015. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
Last Sunday we entered into the Advent season. Now the dictionary defines “advent” as a coming into place, view, or being; an arrival. And it specifically cites the birth of Jesus and the Advent season celebrating His arrival on earth. This is the time of year we reflect on that humble birth and what that singular event means to this world.
Another milestone in the life of our Christ came at His baptism when God declared Jesus as His Son, affirming the Godhead of our Lord. Jesus’ birth marks His advent into our world. His baptism and God’s pronouncement mark His advent into His divinity. And there is a third advent yet to come.
Today I want to look at how that second advent was announced and how it relates to the third. Listen and follow along to what the Apostle Matthew recorded in his Gospel account, from chapter 3, verses 1 through 3, reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
Another milestone in the life of our Christ came at His baptism when God declared Jesus as His Son, affirming the Godhead of our Lord. Jesus’ birth marks His advent into our world. His baptism and God’s pronouncement mark His advent into His divinity. And there is a third advent yet to come.
Today I want to look at how that second advent was announced and how it relates to the third. Listen and follow along to what the Apostle Matthew recorded in his Gospel account, from chapter 3, verses 1 through 3, reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” 3 For 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.’”
--Matthew 3:1-3 (NKJV)
Let us pray… Father God, before we get too wrapped up in the commercialism of the holidays, please settle our hearts and speak to us about the real truth and purpose behind Christmas. May Your Holy Spirit whisper the message You have for us this morning into our ears throughout the coming week. Help us prepare the way of our Lord. In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray. Amen.
British Railways was looking for a way to test locomotive windshields when they heard about an unusual test cannon at British Airways. Airways used the cannon to fire birds at great force into the windshields of passenger jets to simulate what too often happens in day-to-day take offs and landings and to ensure the designs and materials of their windshields were up to the task. They gladly let Railways borrow the cannon for their tests.
Just before the first test run, Railways sent a man out to buy a dead chicken to serve as ammunition for the cannon. The cannon was then loaded, aimed, and fired at the windshield of a locomotive. The bird smashed right through the windshield, broke the engineer’s chair, and made a large dent in the rear wall! Railways officials were furious! They called Airways, demanding an explanation. Airways sent out some inspectors to investigate, and they in turn reported back to Railways: “The next time you buy a chicken for this test, either make sure it isn’t frozen or thaw it out before you fire it.”
[* From 1001 Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking by Michael Hodgin, #271, “A Cold Test”, page 115. *]
I believe this speaks strongly to the old expression: “The devil is in the details”. The folks at British Railways had a great idea to use something that Airways had already successfully employed many times. But they got tripped up by one little – but extremely critical – detail: they used a frozen chicken, as hard as a real cannonball. They tried, but they were not fully prepared for their test. And that brings me to the title of today’s message: “Are We Prepared?”
In the Advent season, we look forward to the coming of Jesus, to Christmas day and our Lord’s birth. But many folks might not realize we are also looking ahead to when He will come again. Isaiah may have been prophesying of Jesus’ first coming into this world, as the holy Infant. And John the Baptist clearly was announcing His second advent, our Lord’s manifest coming into His divinity. But both the prophecy of Isaiah and the record of Matthew look ahead to Jesus’ return, His third advent, with the words, “Prepare the way of the Lord”.
Look at what John the Baptist said in verse 2: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Now listen to the words of Jesus Himself as He began His ministry on earth, from the 4th chapter of Matthew, verse 17…
British Railways was looking for a way to test locomotive windshields when they heard about an unusual test cannon at British Airways. Airways used the cannon to fire birds at great force into the windshields of passenger jets to simulate what too often happens in day-to-day take offs and landings and to ensure the designs and materials of their windshields were up to the task. They gladly let Railways borrow the cannon for their tests.
Just before the first test run, Railways sent a man out to buy a dead chicken to serve as ammunition for the cannon. The cannon was then loaded, aimed, and fired at the windshield of a locomotive. The bird smashed right through the windshield, broke the engineer’s chair, and made a large dent in the rear wall! Railways officials were furious! They called Airways, demanding an explanation. Airways sent out some inspectors to investigate, and they in turn reported back to Railways: “The next time you buy a chicken for this test, either make sure it isn’t frozen or thaw it out before you fire it.”
[* From 1001 Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking by Michael Hodgin, #271, “A Cold Test”, page 115. *]
I believe this speaks strongly to the old expression: “The devil is in the details”. The folks at British Railways had a great idea to use something that Airways had already successfully employed many times. But they got tripped up by one little – but extremely critical – detail: they used a frozen chicken, as hard as a real cannonball. They tried, but they were not fully prepared for their test. And that brings me to the title of today’s message: “Are We Prepared?”
In the Advent season, we look forward to the coming of Jesus, to Christmas day and our Lord’s birth. But many folks might not realize we are also looking ahead to when He will come again. Isaiah may have been prophesying of Jesus’ first coming into this world, as the holy Infant. And John the Baptist clearly was announcing His second advent, our Lord’s manifest coming into His divinity. But both the prophecy of Isaiah and the record of Matthew look ahead to Jesus’ return, His third advent, with the words, “Prepare the way of the Lord”.
Look at what John the Baptist said in verse 2: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Now listen to the words of Jesus Himself as He began His ministry on earth, from the 4th chapter of Matthew, verse 17…
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
--Matthew 4:17 (NKJV)
In both cases, what exactly is “at hand”? Jesus! Jesus is at hand. Jesus is the kingdom of heaven! Isaiah foretold His coming, at the same time providing us all with cautionary instructions.
Let’s take a moment to look at just what God said through Isaiah, as it is a bit more detailed than what Matthew gave us. Hear Isaiah chapter 40, verses 3 through 5…
Let’s take a moment to look at just what God said through Isaiah, as it is a bit more detailed than what Matthew gave us. Hear Isaiah chapter 40, verses 3 through 5…
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
--Isaiah 40:3-5 (NKJV)
“Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” This world is a desert, a wilderness, separated from God’s beautiful garden by the sin of mankind. Until we accept Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit, our very heart is also a desert, and we are lost, separated from God’s love by our own sin.
So the first thing we have to do is make sure our own heart is straight with God! We’ve got to straighten out those crooked places in our lives where we deviate from the path Jesus would have us walk. We’ve got to smooth over our rough places where we might trip up and briefly follow Satan for a few steps. Then the true glory of the Lord will be revealed and eventually all mankind will see it together.
Understand that these are God’s words, not Isaiah’s. It’s in the very last phrase of verse 5: “For the mouth of the Lord has spoken”.
This is all part of our preparation for Jesus’ advent, this straightening and smoothing of our own lives. But it can even provide benefits in this life today. Jotham was one of Judah’s good kings, who pleased God by his actions and thoughts, and because he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Listen to what 2nd Chronicles says of him in chapter 27 verse 6…
So the first thing we have to do is make sure our own heart is straight with God! We’ve got to straighten out those crooked places in our lives where we deviate from the path Jesus would have us walk. We’ve got to smooth over our rough places where we might trip up and briefly follow Satan for a few steps. Then the true glory of the Lord will be revealed and eventually all mankind will see it together.
Understand that these are God’s words, not Isaiah’s. It’s in the very last phrase of verse 5: “For the mouth of the Lord has spoken”.
This is all part of our preparation for Jesus’ advent, this straightening and smoothing of our own lives. But it can even provide benefits in this life today. Jotham was one of Judah’s good kings, who pleased God by his actions and thoughts, and because he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Listen to what 2nd Chronicles says of him in chapter 27 verse 6…
6 So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.
--2 Chronicles 27:6 (NKJV)
He became mighty because he prepared his ways before God. He took everything to God, sought His counsel, before making any decision or action. He made his own life straight in God’s sight.
But as I said, I’m more concerned about what comes next rather than the here and now. We need to prepare for Jesus’ third advent, His return to the earth. And make no mistake – He is coming again. We have that on good authority: His own words. Listen to what Jesus says in the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verses 2 through 4…
But as I said, I’m more concerned about what comes next rather than the here and now. We need to prepare for Jesus’ third advent, His return to the earth. And make no mistake – He is coming again. We have that on good authority: His own words. Listen to what Jesus says in the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verses 2 through 4…
2 "In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
--John 14:2-4 (NKJV)
But Jesus also issues a warning, and this is why we absolutely must be ready. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, verses 31 through 34 and verse 41, Jesus declares…
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’”
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”
--Matthew 25:31-34, 41 (NKJV)
So really, our first step in preparing for the third advent of our Lord is to make sure we truly believe in Him. If so, we will follow His word and repent! We will turn completely from our sinful ways and dwell only on and in Him. We will love God and we will love one another as we love ourselves. And we will show that love by helping others get prepared. Because we don’t want to be culled off to Jesus’ left side when He returns to judge this earth! We don’t want to hear Him say, “Depart from Me, you cursed!”
Are we ready? If not, then it’s time we started straightening out a pathway for our Lord! A path that leads directly to our hearts.
Be prepared! That’s my motto.
Amen.
Let us pray… Lord Jesus, when You return to judge mankind, we so desperately want to hear you say, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.” Help us be prepared for that glorious day, please Lord. Show us the crooked places in our lives that need to be straightened out. Help us feel the rough spots that need to be smoothed. Help us be fully prepared for Your return.
Hear us now, Lord, as we come to You in the silence giving You thanks and asking for Your help. May our Father’s Holy Spirit carry our unspoken needs and prayers to You in this moment of quietude…
Lord Jesus, You command us to love one another, and by that very example to show others Your love. Help us, Lord, to serve You by helping others be prepared for Your advent for judging. Grant us patience, courage and strength, understanding and sensitivity as we come face to face with those who may not want to hear of the Good News You bring. Above all, Lord, help us be ready for when You come again. This we pray in Your blessed name, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Are we ready? If not, then it’s time we started straightening out a pathway for our Lord! A path that leads directly to our hearts.
Be prepared! That’s my motto.
Amen.
Let us pray… Lord Jesus, when You return to judge mankind, we so desperately want to hear you say, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.” Help us be prepared for that glorious day, please Lord. Show us the crooked places in our lives that need to be straightened out. Help us feel the rough spots that need to be smoothed. Help us be fully prepared for Your return.
Hear us now, Lord, as we come to You in the silence giving You thanks and asking for Your help. May our Father’s Holy Spirit carry our unspoken needs and prayers to You in this moment of quietude…
Lord Jesus, You command us to love one another, and by that very example to show others Your love. Help us, Lord, to serve You by helping others be prepared for Your advent for judging. Grant us patience, courage and strength, understanding and sensitivity as we come face to face with those who may not want to hear of the Good News You bring. Above all, Lord, help us be ready for when You come again. This we pray in Your blessed name, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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