[The following is the full manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 20th of December, 2015. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
The day is almost here, and I’m not talking about the first day of after-Christmas sales. We’ve been working hard to get ready for this day for weeks now. Shopping, cooking, baking, wrapping gifts, putting up decorations, cleaning the house for expected guests… And hopefully we’ve been examining our hearts and making sure there is room for Jesus there, within us.
If all goes well, we will soon be able to finally stop long enough to enjoy that silent night, that holy night, the night we celebrate our Savior’s birth. Listen and follow along to how the Apostle Matthew describes the period leading up to that first Christmas from the perspective of Joseph and Mary, as recorded for us in the 1st chapter of his Gospel account, verses 18 through 23, reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
If all goes well, we will soon be able to finally stop long enough to enjoy that silent night, that holy night, the night we celebrate our Savior’s birth. Listen and follow along to how the Apostle Matthew describes the period leading up to that first Christmas from the perspective of Joseph and Mary, as recorded for us in the 1st chapter of his Gospel account, verses 18 through 23, reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
--Matthew 1:18-23 (NKJV)
Let us pray… Father God, this week we will be celebrating the birth of Your Son and our Savior, Jesus. Some of the rush of the season is now behind us, with some yet to come, so still our minds that we may remember what Christmas is truly all about. Speak to us through Your Holy Spirit and give us the message we need to hear today, that we might carry it with us all week. In the beautiful name of Your Son Jesus we pray. Amen.
During the Christmas season one year, a famous preacher visited an assisted living center that was home to a number of Alzheimer's patients. He went around and greeted the people, who were all very glad to see him. The preacher walked up to one lady and asked, "Do you know who I am?" "No”, she answered, “but if you go to the Front Desk, they can tell you."
I bet that little comment gave the preacher a healthy dose of humility. But Joseph and Mary didn’t have that problem, did they, when it came to their little baby. They knew exactly what to name their child, because an angel of the Lord told them. “You shall call His name Jesus”. “And they shall call His name Immanuel… God with us”.
This is a beautiful time of year, isn’t it, as we anticipate the birth of our Savior Jesus. We try to reflect the beauty that is our Lord and the love of God with bright and shiny decorations and lights. We focus on that Holy Birth and on the time leading up to it, as described by Matthew in today’s reading - that’s what we do at Advent.
The angel Gabriel spoke to both Mary and Joseph, on separate occasions, and foretold that a child would be conceived within Mary by the Holy Spirit. And sure enough, what he said would happen did.
That takes us to what Matthew says in verse 22: all of this was done so that the words spoken by God through His prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. Isaiah wrote those words for God of the virgin birth some 700 years before the event occurred! And what he said would happen did. It happened because God gave him the words to say, and God knows everything that will happen in human history.
So just like He told Gabriel to relay to Mary and Joseph, what God told Isaiah to relay to the children of Israel He knew would happen and it did. It happened just like we were told it would.
Of course, this is not the only instance where God told us something and it came to pass. One other we can relate to is when Jesus foretold Peter’s denial of Him just after their last meal together. Listen to how that conversation went, from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 26, verses 31 through 35…
During the Christmas season one year, a famous preacher visited an assisted living center that was home to a number of Alzheimer's patients. He went around and greeted the people, who were all very glad to see him. The preacher walked up to one lady and asked, "Do you know who I am?" "No”, she answered, “but if you go to the Front Desk, they can tell you."
I bet that little comment gave the preacher a healthy dose of humility. But Joseph and Mary didn’t have that problem, did they, when it came to their little baby. They knew exactly what to name their child, because an angel of the Lord told them. “You shall call His name Jesus”. “And they shall call His name Immanuel… God with us”.
This is a beautiful time of year, isn’t it, as we anticipate the birth of our Savior Jesus. We try to reflect the beauty that is our Lord and the love of God with bright and shiny decorations and lights. We focus on that Holy Birth and on the time leading up to it, as described by Matthew in today’s reading - that’s what we do at Advent.
The angel Gabriel spoke to both Mary and Joseph, on separate occasions, and foretold that a child would be conceived within Mary by the Holy Spirit. And sure enough, what he said would happen did.
That takes us to what Matthew says in verse 22: all of this was done so that the words spoken by God through His prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. Isaiah wrote those words for God of the virgin birth some 700 years before the event occurred! And what he said would happen did. It happened because God gave him the words to say, and God knows everything that will happen in human history.
So just like He told Gabriel to relay to Mary and Joseph, what God told Isaiah to relay to the children of Israel He knew would happen and it did. It happened just like we were told it would.
Of course, this is not the only instance where God told us something and it came to pass. One other we can relate to is when Jesus foretold Peter’s denial of Him just after their last meal together. Listen to how that conversation went, from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 26, verses 31 through 35…
31 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will fall away on account of Me this night, for it is written:
‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’
32 But after I have risen, I will go before you to Galilee.”
33 Peter answered, “Though all men will fall away on account of You, yet I will never fall away.”
34 Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
35 Peter said to Him, “Though I should die with You, yet I will not deny You.” And all the disciples spoke in this manner.
--Matthew 26:31-35 (MEV)
Peter denied his denial, but he was wrong and Jesus was right. Jesus foretold that Peter would deny even knowing Him, and it happened just as we were told.
Jesus is God, so Jesus knows everything too. He even knew about His own future, as He tried to tell His disciples on more than one occasion, such as one time when He took them off to the side for a little teaching moment. This also comes from Matthew’s Gospel, a little earlier in his account, from chapter 20, verses 17 through 19…
Jesus is God, so Jesus knows everything too. He even knew about His own future, as He tried to tell His disciples on more than one occasion, such as one time when He took them off to the side for a little teaching moment. This also comes from Matthew’s Gospel, a little earlier in his account, from chapter 20, verses 17 through 19…
17 As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, 18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, 19 and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”
--Matthew 20:17-19 (NASB)
Jesus foretold His own death and resurrection, and they happened just as we were told.
Even the Apostle Peter took note of how the words God spoke through His prophet had all come to pass. In the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 3, verses 18 and 24, Peter says this…
Even the Apostle Peter took note of how the words God spoke through His prophet had all come to pass. In the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 3, verses 18 and 24, Peter says this…
18 “But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.”
24 “Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.”
--Acts 3:18, 24 (NKJV)
Here, Peter is preaching at Solomon’s Portico in Jerusalem, as the people marveled and were amazed at how he and John healed a lame man there. Peter proclaimed that everything foretold in ancient times by the prophets all happened just as we were told.
We can easily go through our Bible and find many more instances of God’s word coming to pass. We have plenty of records to prove that everything God said would happen did indeed happen, just as we were told. And one interesting aspect of this foretelling in our Bible of future occurrences is that we can also see some of those events happening right now in our own time!
We have wars and rumors of wars, like Jesus said we would. We have people who refuse to listen to sound doctrine, those who want preachers that will only tell them what they want to hear, and preachers that are very willing to only tell them what they want to hear, just as the Apostle Paul warned us of. If we really want to dig, we can look at things happening in the Middle East right now along with the involvement of Russia and many other nations and we can see the end times prophecies of Daniel and Ezekiel and those given to John in the Revelation of Jesus Christ beginning to come to pass.
So if everything God told us would happen did already happen or is happening right now, is there any valid reason for us to believe that those things that have not yet happened will not happen?
No! None! Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it won’t. We have too much proof that what God ordains will indeed come to pass, just as we are told it will. We just don’t know when it might come to pass.
And that is why I and many of my pastor brothers speak with such urgency. Because much of what God said would happen is happening right now, today. And that means that what He said would happen that has yet to happen may happen soon!
Listen to what Jesus tells us in the 13th chapter of the Gospel account as recorded by the Apostle Mark. Please pay close attention, because Jesus starts out by warning us of things we can see happening in the world right now, and then about what has yet to transpire. This is from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 13, verses 21 through 27…
We can easily go through our Bible and find many more instances of God’s word coming to pass. We have plenty of records to prove that everything God said would happen did indeed happen, just as we were told. And one interesting aspect of this foretelling in our Bible of future occurrences is that we can also see some of those events happening right now in our own time!
We have wars and rumors of wars, like Jesus said we would. We have people who refuse to listen to sound doctrine, those who want preachers that will only tell them what they want to hear, and preachers that are very willing to only tell them what they want to hear, just as the Apostle Paul warned us of. If we really want to dig, we can look at things happening in the Middle East right now along with the involvement of Russia and many other nations and we can see the end times prophecies of Daniel and Ezekiel and those given to John in the Revelation of Jesus Christ beginning to come to pass.
So if everything God told us would happen did already happen or is happening right now, is there any valid reason for us to believe that those things that have not yet happened will not happen?
No! None! Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it won’t. We have too much proof that what God ordains will indeed come to pass, just as we are told it will. We just don’t know when it might come to pass.
And that is why I and many of my pastor brothers speak with such urgency. Because much of what God said would happen is happening right now, today. And that means that what He said would happen that has yet to happen may happen soon!
Listen to what Jesus tells us in the 13th chapter of the Gospel account as recorded by the Apostle Mark. Please pay close attention, because Jesus starts out by warning us of things we can see happening in the world right now, and then about what has yet to transpire. This is from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 13, verses 21 through 27…
21 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. 22 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.”
--Mark 13:21-27 (NKJV)
Haven’t we heard of people claiming to be Jesus, or the Christ? I remember not too many years ago a man in Florida claimed he was Jesus Christ come back to give his people another chance. And folks believed him – he grew quite a following before it all just sort of blew over.
There are many false prophets and teachers active today, preaching from any soapbox they can find, especially on national media, even from the pulpits of Christian churches. As Paul warned, they preach what people want to hear, what makes them feel good about themselves and the world around them. No thought, it seems, is given to Biblical correctness - only to political correctness. Many are led astray by these false teachings, even those who truly believe in and try to follow Jesus.
And there lies the true danger, being led down the path to ruin and destruction. Because the rest of what Jesus said there has not yet happened, but might very soon come to pass. There will be a time of tribulation as has never been seen on the face of the earth.
Fortunately for mankind, God in His mercy will shorten those days. But then the sun will be darkened and the moon will have no light to reflect. The stars in our heavens will fall and all powers, even in heaven, will be shaken. And Jesus, the Son of Man, will appear in the clouds above the earth. And He will send His angels to call His church home.
There are many things we were told would come to pass that did, just as we were told they would. There are things we have been told would occur that we can see happening today, just as we were told. And there are things yet to come that we must be prepared for, because they will happen just as we were told.
Believe in and trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Master and He will be our Savior. Love God with all our heart and all our soul and love each other as we love ourselves, as Jesus loves us. In this way we can be ready. This is how we can be prepared.
The time is approaching when Jesus will come again to call His church home and to judge this world and all of mankind! Just as we were told. Amen.
Let us pray… Heavenly Father, we have no reason not to believe You, since everything You have ever told us has come to pass and been shown to be true. But sometimes, Father, we get complacent, waiting on Your word to become reality. Sometimes we just fail to understand that everything must work in Your time according to Your plan, Your will, not ours. Help us, please Father, not only to be more patient but to also be ever alert, for while we don’t know when the next phase of Your plan will take place, all indications are that it may be soon and we must be ready for Your Son’s return.
Hear us now, Lord God, as we give You our thanks, ask for Your help, and seek Your counsel here in the silence, straight from our hearts…
Father God, at this time of year we look forward to our Lord’s return by looking back at His birth. You foretold that birth and exactly how it would occur through Your prophets of old. And it happened just as we were told. Jesus foretold of His return and exactly what will happen in the last days, and we can be assured that this will also all happen just as we were told. We anxiously await that second coming just as the world awaited His first. Come, Lord Jesus, come. This we pray in that blessed name of Jesus Christ our Master and our Redeemer. Amen.
There are many false prophets and teachers active today, preaching from any soapbox they can find, especially on national media, even from the pulpits of Christian churches. As Paul warned, they preach what people want to hear, what makes them feel good about themselves and the world around them. No thought, it seems, is given to Biblical correctness - only to political correctness. Many are led astray by these false teachings, even those who truly believe in and try to follow Jesus.
And there lies the true danger, being led down the path to ruin and destruction. Because the rest of what Jesus said there has not yet happened, but might very soon come to pass. There will be a time of tribulation as has never been seen on the face of the earth.
Fortunately for mankind, God in His mercy will shorten those days. But then the sun will be darkened and the moon will have no light to reflect. The stars in our heavens will fall and all powers, even in heaven, will be shaken. And Jesus, the Son of Man, will appear in the clouds above the earth. And He will send His angels to call His church home.
There are many things we were told would come to pass that did, just as we were told they would. There are things we have been told would occur that we can see happening today, just as we were told. And there are things yet to come that we must be prepared for, because they will happen just as we were told.
Believe in and trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Master and He will be our Savior. Love God with all our heart and all our soul and love each other as we love ourselves, as Jesus loves us. In this way we can be ready. This is how we can be prepared.
The time is approaching when Jesus will come again to call His church home and to judge this world and all of mankind! Just as we were told. Amen.
Let us pray… Heavenly Father, we have no reason not to believe You, since everything You have ever told us has come to pass and been shown to be true. But sometimes, Father, we get complacent, waiting on Your word to become reality. Sometimes we just fail to understand that everything must work in Your time according to Your plan, Your will, not ours. Help us, please Father, not only to be more patient but to also be ever alert, for while we don’t know when the next phase of Your plan will take place, all indications are that it may be soon and we must be ready for Your Son’s return.
Hear us now, Lord God, as we give You our thanks, ask for Your help, and seek Your counsel here in the silence, straight from our hearts…
Father God, at this time of year we look forward to our Lord’s return by looking back at His birth. You foretold that birth and exactly how it would occur through Your prophets of old. And it happened just as we were told. Jesus foretold of His return and exactly what will happen in the last days, and we can be assured that this will also all happen just as we were told. We anxiously await that second coming just as the world awaited His first. Come, Lord Jesus, come. This we pray in that blessed name of Jesus Christ our Master and our Redeemer. Amen.
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