Sermon Notes - Second Sunday
in Advent - 8 December
2013, Anno Domini
The Second Sunday in Advent
The
Collect.
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LESSED
Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant
that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest
them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever
hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
The
First Sunday in Advent
The Collect.
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A
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LMIGHTY
God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us
the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son
Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he
shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
¶
This Collect is to be repeated every day, after the other Collects in Advent,
until Christmas Day.
The Collect holds forth the whole hope provided in the Advent Promise of the
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. That hope is called “the blessed hope.”
Clearly implicit in the holding of that blessed hoped is hearing, reading,
marking, and internalization of God’s Holy Word. Do we go into the wilderness
of the world to see a ‘reed shaken in the wind,’ or do we go
forth seeking to hear the preaching of the Holy Word of God? Once heard and
believed, what result? If we have truly believed, we will not be able to
satisfy our appetites for hearing reading, and studying that Word. Not only
will we flee, even into the wilderness to hear that Word and to whet our hunger
for it, but our voices shall become like unto that faithful voice of John ‘Crying
in the Wilderness.’
Amos 3:1-8
First Lesson (1st Propers)
Hear this
word that the Lord hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the
whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I
known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all
your iniquities. Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Will a lion roar
in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if
he have taken nothing? Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin
is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at
all? Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall
there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? Surely the Lord God
will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord God hath spoken, who can but
prophesy?
Christ came, in the fullness of time to redeem His people from their sins. Who
are His people? Is it some political state, or racial component thereof? No, it
is not. Spiritual Israel has been the same from the beginning – those who have
believed the Promise of the Coming Seed made plain in Abraham. Israel
(the people of God) cannot be squeezed into national boundaries, but is
comprised of all who believe. There are certainly members of political Israel
who are no more saved in Christ than the unreached indigenous Indian tribes of
the Amazon River Basin. It is faith in the promise that defines Israel: “Even
as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children
of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen
through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall
all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with
faithful Abraham.” (Gal 3:6-9) “For
the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to
his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they
which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none
effect.” (Romans
4:13-14)
Christ came in the body of a man and was wholly God and wholly man, at the same
time, to endure every suffering and pain that is common to mankind. God even
called His Son out of Egypt just has He has called all of His people out of the
“Land of Bondage.” The secrets of the Lord have been revealed to His
prophets and, through their records made thereof, to us if we will read and
study. God sends no judgment upon a people without first sending forth a
warning just as a lion roaring from the dark shadows. God had promised the Advent
of His Son from the misty dawns of Eden. Though He is forever coming into the
hearts of His people from Abraham to us, He has promised two physical and
visible Comings – at Christmas and at the last Trump! We, woo, are invited to
come to Him in both kinds. We come to Him by faith in this life, and we come to
Him through the power of the resurrection at His Second Coming. You will recall
that Noah and his family were invited to come into the place of safety ere the
doors of the Ark were closed – not by Noah, but by the Lord God. God has
extended more than 2,000 invitations to us to come. His last invitation is
found in the last possible instant – the last chapter of the last Book of the
Bible: “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth
say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely.” (Rev 22:17) Advent is a Coming ofChrist to
us, but also a coming of us to Christ.
Have we heeded the Voice of the Lord and feared according to the warning? If
the lion roars outside the village, will we turn over and return to our sleep?
The Lion of Judah has roared and we would best heed the roaring of the Lord. I
hear a roaring across the landscape of America – a Voice that once cried in the
Wilderness is now roaring its warning to an apostate people. If we would not go
into bondage as did the people of Jerusalem of old, we must repent both
individually and as a nation from our sins, and turn our faces and hearts back
to the Lord.
St. John 5:30-40
I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my
judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father
which hath sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There
is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he
witnesseth of me is true. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the
truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye
might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a
season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John:
for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I
do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself,
which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice
at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for
whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them ye
think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will
not come to me, that ye might have life.
There is no more historically confirmed event in history than that of the
birth, life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover the
coming of Christ was prophesied thousands of years prior to His Coming in
marked and precise detail. As fingers of the coming Light began to dawn on the
distant horizon during the dark years of the intervening period between the
last word of Malachi to the first of John the Baptist, the world was smothered
in sin and absent-mindedness toward God that led to their misery. But on that
first Christmas morning so very long ago, the Light of the World burst forth in
resplendent brilliance across the hills of Bethlehem and finally across the
whole world. Before coming into the radiance of His Light, all of us have sat
in darkness. The Lord Jesus Christ has brought light and love into hearts once
steeped in bitterness, hate, and brooding malice. Though recorded history
offers the most abundant of empirical proofs of the Advent of Christ, there
remains a much more certain proof in the heart of the believer – that of
believing faith. Do you doubt the treasure? Search the heart and see the
splendor of riches made available in Christ.
The opening verse of our Gospel text demonstrates the inseverability of the
Trinity. It is best described in the words of Dr. Nathan Wood in his great work
on the Trinity of God – “The Trinity in the Universe” – in which he compares
the Trinity with the three dimensions comprising all of the physical Creation.
Every material object MUST possess width, height, and depth. Absent only one of
those dimensions, there is not space for matter to occupy. But the three dimensions
of God are infinite in nature. You cannot have God without the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost. We cannot deny One without denying all Three. “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge:
and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the
Father which hath sent me.” In this verse, Jesus provides an
acceptable basis for judgment in the church. If we judge with the righteous
judgment of Christ, we are on firm ground. Please note that ALL Christ did or
said was in total unity with the Father. Are we, friends, in unity with Christ.
If we are, we are, of necessity, in unity with the Father. And if the Church is
in unity with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, it will be in unity with each
member of His Body. Divisions occur when either the minister or people act out
of ignorance, malice, or pride against each other.
According to the law, truth must be established in the mouth of two or more
witnesses. Though Christ is sufficient witness in Himself to us of His
Lordship, He never speaks in alienation of the other two members of the
Godhead. “If I bear witness of myself, my
witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know
that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.” Jesus is
telling us that if He speaks or acts outside the Unity of the Triune God, He
would not be who He claims to be. But, in reality, Christ cannot speak apart
from the Father and the Holy Ghost for they are One in Will and Purpose.
However, to satisfy the requirements of the law, Jesus makes reference to
another witness – God the Father. This confirms, not only spiritually, but
legally, the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. God the Father has born witness
of His Son from Eden to John the Baptist, and did so more than once by Voice
during the life of Christ. “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased.”
While it is true that John was a burning and bright light of truth, he was,
nonetheless, a lower harbor light to the great Light House of God whose beams
sweep the ocean seas during calm seas and storm. “Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive
not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was
a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in
his light.” These words of Christ are quite telling. Though we
may be led to the brook of Living Waters by believers, we cannot drink the
waters of the brook without the provision of God to keep the waters flowing. It
is not the guide that saves us, but the water itself. “Brightly beams,
our Father’s mercies, from His Light House ever more. But to us, He gives the
keeping, of the lights along the shore.” That old song gives us some
small understanding that it is the Light of God that saves the lost seaman. We
are only the harbor lights that lead to the true Light. John was a lower light.
He was not the True Light, but he bore witness of the True Light which was
Christ. “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The
same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him
might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that
Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the
world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew
him not.”
(John 1:5-10)
Are we being the witnesses of that True Light that we are called to be? Do we
cry out the Gospel with our hearts, our minds, and our actions even in
wilderness places? It is true today that all who proclaim the Gospel are as a
Voice Crying in the Wilderness. The world is a wilderness of sin. Jesus Christ
has come bearing the gifts of salvation and liberty. We must cry out even in
the world does not heed the voice. The Word is a two-edged sword that cuts both
ways – either to convict of sin and lead to repentance, or to condemn finally
to Hell. No sinner will be able to claim that ‘no one ever told me,’ for nature
itself proclaims the Lord. But a second witness is needful- the voice of the
faithful.
Are we ready for the Advent of the Lord? Have we served honorably as “watchers
on the wall?” Have we believed God and not man? “But
I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given
me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father
hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of
me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.”
Are you one of those wandering stars (comets) who have no fixed place in
heaven? (Jude 1:13) Are you seeking marvelous signs and wonders from vain and
pompous men who claim to be evangelists, or do you accept the life-works and
testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ? (Matthew 12:39-40) Were the works of Christ
sufficient for your faith, or do you seek others of mere men? It is God whom we
must trust – not man! (Psalms 118:8-9 & Acts 5:29) Are you one who hides
behind the cover of a so-called “separation of church and state” or do you obey
always the Higher Law of God?
As we approach the glorious Advent of our Lord, let not these words of Jesus
describe you: “And ye have not his word
abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the
scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which
testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
You may KNOW the Word of god very well. Many esteemed seminary professors have
learned that Word well in order that they might dispute that Word. Even the
devils believe and tremble. But does the Word of God, which is the heart and
focus of your study, actually live and abide in your heart. Life is full of
action and consciousness. Is that life of the Word abiding in your heart? Has it
created a new man in you? Do all who know you see and recognize in your uniform
that you are a soldier of Christ? Have they seen His Banner flying high above
your heart?
So,
in conclusion, Advent is a coming of Christ to us. But Advent is also a coming
of the Wise Men and Women to Christ. We have seen His Star in the East and have
followed that Light to Christ, have we not?
