GREAT EXPECTATIONS: The Promise of Advent

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

It is here, the fourth Sunday of Advent. It marks the final Sunday before Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Today we light all four of the advent candles around the advent wreath: the Prophets candle, the Bethlehem candle, the Shepherds candle (which turns from purple to pink), and the Angel’s candle. As we have been talking about, each candle has s meaningful part in the Christmas story.

The middle candle, the Christ candle, will remain unlit until our Christmas Eve service.

Advent confession

Now that we are here at the fourth Sunday of advent, I have a confession to make. I have not been completely forthcoming with you regarding advent. I haven’t lied, exactly, but I have held something back from you.

You see, I have led you to believe that advent is all about a manger in Bethlehem some two thousand years ago. That is not entirely true. All that we have talked about up until this time has focused on that event. But that is not the only event of concern in the celebration of advent. In fact, it may even be argued that the manger in Bethlehem is not even the most significant element of Advent. So today, due to the stirring of my conscience, I will come completely clean with you. There is another aspect to advent.

Remember that I told you the meaning of the word ‘advent:’

Advent: to come, or to arrive

Jesus came, just as the prophets said He would come. He arrived in Bethlehem and we celebrate His advent. This is the First Advent.

There is also a Second Advent. It hasn’t taken place yet. There are even more prophecies, and Jesus’ own words, which tell us that He is coming again. He is not coming as a baby the second time, but “as lightning flashes from the East to the West.”

When we celebrate advent, we celebrate not just His first advent, as a Babe in a Manger, but we also celebrate His second advent, when He will come again. This series is entitled, “Great Expectations,” and there is no greater expectation that we have than to see Jesus upon His return. It is our Greatest Expectation.

THE KEYS OF ADVENT

So, let’s keep this very simple and very meaningful. There is a counterfeit Christmas out there, and it is anything but simple or meaningful.

Christmas in New York

At the Christmas dessert last week I talked with a woman from the church who took a trip with her husband to New York City the week before. I asked her how her trip went, and she said it was a sad trip. The city was all decked out for Christmas, but she could not find anything reflecting the true meaning and significance of Christmas. All she saw was about being big, and flashy, and expensive. It was commercialism at its max.

She said the one place she saw anything inspiring at all about the true meaning of Christmas was, surprisingly enough, at the Radio City Music Hall Rockets show. At the end of their show they had a live nativity with real animals. What an unusual place to find the true meaning of Christmas.

The holiday we see all around us at this time of year is an obvious counterfeit. Don’t be fooled by it.

A bogus bill

Some counterfeit is a bit more obvious than other counterfeits.

On Saturday, October 6 of this year, a man went into a grocery store in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and tried to pass a counterfeit bill. Here was the plan: Pay for your groceries with a counterfeit bill, get the groceries free and get change for your fake bill in real money. Great plan!

So, he went through the line and handed the cashier the bill. You know those little pens that they have to tell if the bill is real or not? Well, the cashier didn’t even have to use it. Why? Because he handed the clerk a one million dollar bill.

First of all, do you think a grocery store cashier is going to have change for a million dollar bill in their cash register? Secondly, there is no such thing as a million dollar bill and never has been. The largest bill in circulation today is the one hundred dollar bill.

If you’re gonna make it fake, you might as well make it big. This also seems to be the motto when it comes to the commercialization of Christmas.

The whole story

So, here’s the whole story of advent, as simple as it gets:

1. Jesus came.

2. Jesus left.

3. Jesus is coming back.

Let’s take a look at a small piece of a conversation that Jesus had with His disciples:

John 14:1-6 (NKJV)
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 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.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

From this passage we see that: Jesus came, Jesus left, and Jesus is coming back.

1. Jesus came.

He said, “You believe in God, believe also in Me.” Jesus came as God in the flesh. Quoting from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14), Matthew puts it all together for us in his gospel when he says:

Matthew 1:23 (NKJV)
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.”

Why did He come? If you’re living in heaven, I wouldn’t think that the earth would be a popular destination spot. It isn’t. He came for a specific reason.

§ To become one of us.

It Is Easy for You

The great writer Max Lucado tells about his neighbor who was trying to teach his six-year-old son how to shoot a basketball. They were out in the backyard. The father shot a couple of times, saying, "Do it just like that, son; it's real easy." The little boy tried very hard but he couldn't get the ball ten feet into the air. The little fellow got more and more frustrated. Finally, after hearing his father talk about how easy it was for the tenth time, the boy said, "It's easy for you up there. You don't know how hard it is from down here."

You and I can never say that about God. When Jesus became man and lived among us, he walked where we walked, he suffered what we suffer, he was tempted as we are tempted. He was Emmanuel which means "God is with us." (Bill Bouknight, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com)

2. Jesus left.

Jesus didn’t stick around. He didn’t intend to. He told His disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you.” He told them many times that He was just passing through; that He was going to be crucified and rise from the dead. That was the plan all along.

§ To prepare a place for us.

Please see the irony in this. When Jesus came to earth there was no place prepared for Him. We know quite well from many Christmas programs that there was no room for Him in the inn. And yet He went to heaven for the express purpose of preparing a place for us. He deserved it. We don’t. There was no place for Him. He is preparing a place for us. Amazing!

Mary, Let's Go To The Barn

Here is a nativity story with an interesting twist: A grade school class was putting on a Christmas play which included the story of Mary and Joseph coming to the inn. In that class was one little boy who wanted very much to be Joseph. But when the parts were handed out, his biggest rival was given that part, and he was assigned to be the inn keeper instead. He was really bitter about this. So during all the rehearsals he kept plotting in his mind what he might do the night of performance to get even with his rival who was Joseph.

Finally, the night of the performance, Mary and Joseph came walking across the stage. They knocked on the door of the inn, and the inn-keeper opened the door and asked them gruffly what they wanted. Joseph answered, "We'd like to have a room for the night." Suddenly the inn-keeper threw the door open wide and said, "Great, come on in and I'll give you the best room in the house."

For a few seconds poor little Joseph didn't know what to do, and a long silence ensued. Finally though, thinking quickly on his feet, Joseph looked in past the inn-keeper, first to the left and then to the right and said, "No wife of mine is going to stay in a dump like this. Come on, Mary, let's go to the barn." And once again the play was back on course. (Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com. Adapted from a Story by John Simmons)

Beyond imagination

Jesus came to a dumpy place that had no room for Him. He is preparing for you and me a place that is beyond our wildest imaginations. Have you ever been to the Tour of Homes in Salem or the Street of Dreams in Portland where you can see some of the most elaborate and expensive houses around? Some of them are in the millions. They pale in comparison with what Jesus is preparing.

3. Jesus is coming back.

If, when Jesus came He had no intention of staying, why would He be coming back? There’s only one reason:

§ To bring us home

He said, “I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (v.3)

Go to prepare a place

About four years into our marriage, I left home alone and traveled all the way across the country. I left my wife and our three-month old daughter behind and went all alone to Asbury Park, New Jersey. Our family was going to be moving there, but I went there first so that Dalene and Jenni would have a nice place to stay when they got there. I drove to a place where I had never been before. I knew no one there. I stayed in a pretty rough place – nothing fancy. I spent my entire time there looking for a place that my wife would like, that would be good enough for our new baby. What a job! (Remember, I said it was in New Jersey.)

Well, after many attempts, I finally found a place. I thought I did pretty well, but what would Dalene think? The place was ready, so I flew back to Oregon. I got Dalene and Jenni, we got a plane and went back to New Jersey together. I was anxious to show her the place. We drove up, I opened the door, and… she loved it. I did good.

Do you see the parallel? Jesus left heaven for earth. I left Oregon for New Jersey. You just can’t get a closer parallel than that! I was so glad to see my wife pleased with her new home. Jesus is excited about showing you your new home in heaven. (And it will be a lot better than an apartment in New Jersey.)

The Promise of Advent is a place prepared for me.

*** Ushers: Pass out key chains ***

There is a home prepared for you. The keys are accessible through relationship.

Hide-A-Key

Once we had moved back to Oregon, our baby girl now had a baby sister and the two of them were attending school near our home. Dalene was home when they got home from school. But we thought we should have a contingency plan. If the girls had to come home early from school or if Dalene wasn’t able to be home for some reason, we thought it would be a good idea to have a key hidden so the girls could get in the house if they ever needed to. But, where do you hide a key? Under the mat? Too obvious. We needed a place that was easy for the girls to get at, but not for someone else to get.

Then we had a brilliant idea. At that time we had a large dog named Sully. He was half Husky and half Labrador. When we weren’t home he stayed in a dog kennel in the back yard. We put the key right inside his dog house. If the girls needed the key, they could walk into his kennel reach into his dog house and grab the key, no problem. If someone else who didn’t know Sully wanted to get in, it wouldn’t be so easy.

This may be a poor illustration but the point is this: The keys to your heavenly home are accessed through relationship. For those who have relationship with Jesus, access will be no problem at all. He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of My Father.” For those who He doesn’t know, scripture says that He will say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.”

Jesus’ first advent is the key to His second advent. His coming as a Baby in Bethlehem and dying on a cross to open the way was to open the way for relationship with you and me to give us a place with Him for eternity in heaven.


Conclusion
Let’s end this service by reading a familiar story about Jesus’ first advent.

Reading of the Christmas Story

*** Luke 2:1-20 by Bill Noonan

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: The Hope of Advent

The Third Sunday of Advent
This is the third Sunday of Advent and the third Sunday of our current sermon series: Great Expectations. The Advent season makes up the four Sundays preceding Christmas and is all about expectation. Remember, the word ‘advent’ means: to come or to arrive. It is a time of expectant waiting.

Two weeks ago we introduced the Advent Wreath and lit the first candle, the candle of Prophecy. Last week we lit the second candle, the candle of Bethlehem. This week we lit a new candle, the candle of the shepherds. This candle changes in color from purple to pink (or rose), signifying that the four weeks of advent are now half over. Two weeks are now behind and two weeks still lie ahead. The candle of the shepherds traditionally represents joy.

During this series, “Great Expectations”, we have been dealing with some of the great themes of Advent. The first week we talked about the Light of Advent. The Light of Advent is Jesus. Last week we talked about the Faith of Advent. We said the Faith of Advent is Real. Today, let’s talk about the Hope of Advent.

The Christmas Story
Hope has always been associated with advent and with Christmas. What better illustration of hope is there than a child carefully sizing up the presents underneath a Christmas tree, shaking the packages and hoping beyond hope that the present inside is a cool toy and not some boring clothes?

Many of you would say that your favorite Christmas show is “The Christmas Story.” It is a program that we can all relate to. Ralphie, the main character in the story, is a nine year old boy who desperately hopes to get a BB gun for Christmas. But he doesn’t want just any BB gun: an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock. His hope turns into an obsession. His hopes are dashed when his mother says, “You’ll shoot your eye out.” In an unexpected twist, Dad comes through and Raphie gets his BB gun.
What is hope? And what is the Hope of Advent?

Hope means a lot of different things to different people. I found these acronyms for hope on the internet:

 Homeschool Organization of Parent Educators

 Harnessing Optimism and Potential through Education

 Human Organ Procurement and Exchange program

 Have Only Positive Expectations

 Help Our Planet Earth

and my favorite

 HUMMER Owners Prepared for Emergencies

I think the best definition of hope is this: A confident expectation of a preferred future. That is a good definition of the biblical use of the word hope. It is not wishful thinking, but a confident expectation. Let me tell you a story from the Bible which is the perfect illustration of hope.

Think of a piece of red ribbon that you might find on a Christmas present. Today, it is a symbol of hope.

Tiqvah
The word for ‘hope’ in Hebrew is the word ‘tiqvah.’ The first time it is used in scripture is in the second chapter of the book of Joshua. It is when the nation of Israel was entering the Promised Land after wandering for forty years in the wilderness. Joshua sent two spies to check out the city of Jericho. This was the first city in conquering the land.

The spies went into the city and met up with a woman by the name of Rahab. According to the text, she was a harlot (prostitute). She had a checkered past. She was living in a land that was doomed to destruction. The people of Jericho knew that Israel was on the way. They had heard what God did to Egypt in freeing Israel from slavery. They heard reports that God parted the Red Sea for Israel’s escape. They also heard about the way God gave Israel victory in their wars against other kings in the wilderness. Now Israel was heading their way and they didn’t have much hope.

Rahab needed hope. She had a checkered past and was living in a doomed city. She knew that God was behind these spies so, at risk of her own life, she hid the spies from the city guards who were trying to find them. When they were leaving, they gave her a promise to protect her when they returned with the army. They told her to bind a scarlet cord on her window. The Hebrew word used here for cord is ‘tiqvah.’ It is the word that comes to mean ‘hope’ or ‘expectation.’

This cord was her hope, her constant reminder.

The Israel army drew near, the people of Jericho freaked out, and Rahab had her hope. The army marched around the city of Jericho once, the people freaked out, and Rahab had her hope. The second day, the army marched around the city of Jericho again, the people freaked out, and Rahab had her hope. This happened six days in a row. On the seventh day they marched around the city seven times. On the seventh time the priest blew the trumpets and the people shouted. The walls of Jericho came down, but Rahab and her family, all that trusted in that scarlet cord of hope, were saved.

Mary
Now, let’s talk about another young woman – not a prostitute but a virgin – who speaks of hope.
Luke 1:26-38 (NKJV)
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.” 38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

This message from Gabriel to Mary meant that things would never be the same again. For Mary and for the entire human race, this was a message of hope (a Savior coming to the world) and a message of change.

The Hope of Advent is transformation.

The message of Christmas is one of change and transformation. Christmas is the day when God said, “It’s time. Things are going to change around here.” It marks the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. It is marked on our calendars from B.C. to A.D.

It also meant a pretty major personal transformation for Mary. It was a transformation from unmarried virgin to a pregnant woman, which is itself a transformation to becoming a mother. You may notice that this skips over a step or two. This is a supernatural transformation.

There is probably no better picture of hope and transformation together than a pregnant woman. As hope grows, so does mom and she is transformed before our very eyes.

SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION
Let’s apply this message of transformation to our own lives.

1. Spiritual transformation comes about not as we pursue change, but as we pursue God.

As far as we can tell, Mary did not have a ten-step plan to becoming the mother of God. She had not planned for or pursued the position. There is every indication that she loved God and wanted to please Him. The rest took care of itself.

This is the most important thing for us to understand in this area of spiritual transformation. Don’t seek change on your own. Seek God and let Him change you.

If you want to be a better husband or wife, don’t figure out what it takes and try your best to do it. Instead, just seek God. Read His Word. Pray. Commit yourself to doing what He says. Get involved in a Christian community. Do you know what will happen? You will become a better husband or a better wife.

The best way to be transformed from addictions is not focusing on the addictive behavior but focusing on God. Pursue Him and He will transform you from the inside out.

Whatever transformation is needed in your life, it is found in giving yourself to God.

Be transformed
Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Notice two key verbs in that paragraph. The first one is “present” (“present your bodies a living sacrifice”). It is in the active voice. That means that it is up to you. You do the action. Your part is to present your bodies a living sacrifice to God.

The next verb to notice is “be transformed.” It is in the passive voice. That means that you don’t do the doing, but it is done unto you. It doesn’t say, “transform yourself” but “be transformed.” The word there is ‘metamorphoo’ from which we get our word, metamorphous.

2. Spiritual transformation is a process, not a one-time event.

We mistakenly think all spiritual transformation is an immediate action. God waves his God-wand and ‘poof’, we’re done. Nope. Spiritual transformation is a process.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NKJV)
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The spiritual transformation that took place in Mary and through Mary took time. It didn’t happen overnight. At first, she didn’t notice anything. She may have wondered if she heard correctly. Then she probably felt a little sick in the mornings. “It might all be in my head,” she may have said. Then, little by little, the transformation took place.

That is how spiritual transformation usually takes place. And sometimes the transformation can be very uncomfortable.

Turkey thermometer
Look at it this way: If all of us had a little spiritual thermometer like a turkey thermometer with the little red thing that pops out when the turkey is done, none of us would have the little red thing poking out. You’re not done. (Turn to someone and say, “You may be a turkey, but you’re not done.”)

 Other people are in process too.

You are in process. You need some patience. Other people are in process, too, so give them a chance. Give them some grace.

Rahab: the rest of the story
Let me tell you the rest of the story of Rahab and her transformation of hope. Rahab waited and waited. She was a person with a checkered past living in a doomed city, but she had hope: a scarlet cord. Then one day she left Jericho behind and became a part of Israel. She was no longer a Jerichonian. Joshua 6:23 says she and her family were brought outside the camp of Israel. Then, in Joshua 6:25, “Therefore, she dwells in Israel to this day.” She went from outside the camp to dwelling in Jerusalem. But that is not the last of Rahab.

Rahab married a man by the name of Salmon, a leader in the tribe of Judah. Salmon and Rahab had a son by the name of Boaz. Boaz married a woman by the name of Ruth and together had a son named Obed, who had a son named Jesse, who had a son named David, king of Israel (Matthew 1:5).

Rahab’s transformation took her from prostitute in Jericho, to part of the children of God, to bride, to mother, to great-great-grandmother of the king of Israel and part of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of David. Step by step, what an amazing transformation. This leads us into our third and final point:

3. Nothing is impossible with God.

The angel Gabriel concluded his message of transformation and hope to Mary this way:

Luke 1:37 (NKJV)
37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”

God has shown us repeatedly that spiritual transformation of any kind is never impossible with Him. In fact, it is His specialty. We already talked about Rahab, who was transformed from prostitute to one of the most highly honored woman in all of scripture. Here are just a few others:

 Abraham: from childless to father of many nations

 Joseph: from prisoner to prime minister

 David: from lowly shepherd to king

 Peter: from fisherman to fisher of men

 Paul: from persecutor to apostle (“chief of sinners” 1 Timothy 1:15)

 You and me: from sinner to saint

The hope of advent is transformation. Jesus came for this purpose, to bring transformation. He came to change the world and He also came to change you and me. His transformation is, literally, our only hope.

CONCLUSION
What transformation do you hope for?
Take a look at the ribbon in your hand. You are a person with a checkered past living in a doomed world, like Rahab. There is absolutely no limit to the transformation work that Jesus can do in you.
What is your need of transformation? No matter what it is, your part is the same: pursue God and let Him do a work of transformation in you.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: The Faith of Advent

The Second Sunday of Advent

This is the Second Sunday of Advent and we light the second candle. The first candle is the Prophets candle and represents hope. The second candle is the Bethlehem candle. It represents humility and preparation.

Last week we talked about the Light of Advent. Today let’s talk about the Faith of Advent. There’s no better place to start than in Bethlehem.


Micah 5:2-5 (NKJV)
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” 3 Therefore He shall give them up, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel. 4 And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth; 5 And this One shall be peace.

This verse from the Old Testament is quoted in the New Testament in relationship to Jesus’ birth:

Matthew 2:6 (NKJV)
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

Using this verse, the religious leaders were able to tell Herod and the Wise Men that the Messiah (‘Christ’ in the Greek) was to be born in Bethlehem. That wasn’t a big secret. There were discussions later about Jesus. Some people said, “Could He be the Christ?” Others, thinking he was born in Nazareth, not Bethlehem, said:

John 7:42 (NKJV)
42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?”

Jesus grew up in Nazareth, but He was born in Bethlehem!

There are two things that I would like you to consider regarding Bethlehem and faith.


What was promised is now a reality

When the prophet Micah wrote that prophetic word about Bethlehem, it must have seemed pretty far-fetched and far-off. Like all the prophecies, it was promised to happen, but it was not yet reality. The Bible says that Micah and others in the Old Testament only saw these promises from a distance. They died not having received the promises. To them it was a promise – a potentiality.

This isn’t true for us. It is not a promise that we look ahead to, but a reality that we can look back on.

The Faith of Advent is real.

Faith became reality when a young girl named Mary had a Baby Boy in Bethlehem, named Jesus. It is a perfect place for faith to become real.


Out of little Bethlehem came Greatness

Here is the second thing I want you to notice. Bethlehem was a nothing, little place. It was small and insignificant in every way. Yet out of this little, tiny city came the greatest event – the greatest individual – to ever walk the face of the earth. The impact of that city is still being felt today.

MUSTARD SEED FAITH

What does that have to do with faith? Consider a mustard seed. Notice how tiny this little seed is. It is like the city of Bethlehem. Out of this little seed comes a great plant. Jesus said to his disciples:

Luke 13:18-19 (NKJV)
18 Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

This seed is not a large tree, but it could be. It is a potential mustard plant – a virtual one.

1. Don’t be satisfied with virtual faith.

Some years ago, Madonna sang a song that said, “We are living in a material world, and I am a material girl.” That may have been true back then, but not so much anymore. We are, more and more, living not in a material world but in a virtual world.

Many prefer virtual relationships

With some 30 million people now involved world-wide [in online, virtual reality video games], there is mounting concern that some are squandering—even damaging—their real lives by obsessing over their "second" ones. That's always been a concern with videogames, but a field of study suggests that the boundary between virtual worlds and reality may be more porous than experts previously imagined.

Nearly 40 percent of men and 53 percent of women who play online games said their virtual friends were equal to or better than their real-life friends, according to a survey of 30,000 gamers conducted by Nick Yee, a recent PhD graduate from Stanford University. More than a quarter of gamers said the emotional highlight of the past week occurred in a computer world…

Edward Castronova, associate professor in the Department of Telecommunications at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, says, "There's a fuzziness that's emerging between the virtual world and the real world." [Alexander Alter, "Is This Man Cheating on His Wife?" The Wall Street Journal (8-10-07)]

More than ever before, we are becoming accustomed to virtual living. Don’t be satisfied with virtual faith.

Luke 17:5-6 (NKJV)
5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” 6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

So, what can we do? The disciples asked, “Lord, increase our faith.” That is just like us. “Jesus, just make my faith bigger. Make it automatic and clean and easy. You just do it for me. Bigger is obviously better, so increase my faith.”

Jesus said, “You just need faith as a mustard seed.” What are you talking about, Lord. A mustard seed?! Do you know how tiny they are? Wait a minute… Just a few chapters earlier Jesus was talking about mustard seeds. What did he say? Once they are planted, they become a huge plant.

- You don’t need increased faith.

- You need planted faith.

If this mustard seed is going to do any good at all and become anything other than what it already is, it has to go into the dirty ground. The seed undergoes change. It dies. And it grows. The same is true of faith.

2. Plant your faith.

Faith will stay virtual faith, seed faith, until you plant it. So, how do you plant your faith? How do you bury your faith deep so that it can soar upward? I’m going to give you some specific ways to do it, but I don’t think you’re going to like it. I’m pretty sure you’re not going to like it.

- Sacrifice

Faith will face challenges and hardship. How faith reacts to sacrifice shows what it’s really made of. Real faith makes sacrifice. Phony faith talks a big talk but won’t make actual sacrifice. It is sorted out at sacrifice.

- Obedience

Scripture says, “To obey is better than sacrifice.” (1 Samuel 15:22) Believing God and doing what He says is about the best definition of faith that there is.

- Action

Real faith takes action. You can’t just believe in things, but that belief must drive you to take action for faith to come to life.

James 2:26 (NKJV)
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

- Risk

By definition, faith will take you into situations without guarantees. If my response to God is, “Once I know for sure what will be required, and that it won’t be too much, and there is no possibility of failure… than I’ll do it.” That is not faith. There is always risk.

Hospital waiting room reading

I was in a hospital waiting room last week with a woman whose husband was in having surgery. I noticed sitting on the end table in the hospital waiting room was a Reader’s Digest magazine. The cover article along with a big picture right on the cover was (I’m not making this up) “Fatal mistakes that hospitals make.” That will challenge your faith!

Do you really want your faith to soar? It takes sacrifice, obedience, action and risk.

Faith without sacrifice is phony. Faith without obedience is misdirected. Faith without action is dead. And faith without risk is a total contradiction.

3. Take small steps.

This small seed doesn’t become a great tree all at once. The growth takes time. It is almost indiscernible at times, but it is happening. But it has to be planted. There has to be a start.

Planting is a nasty business. It means to take the seed and shove it down into the dirt. It isn’t clean. It is a mystery how all that dirt activates growth to bring a great tree out of a small seed. But it does.

- Get your faith dirty.

This is the challenge I leave you with. Get your faith dirty. Is your faith dirty? Has your faith experienced sacrifice, obedience, action or risk lately? For most of us, the answer is no. And our faith stays in its nice, compact little shell.

You and I do not need more faith. We need to use the faith we have. We need to plant it and watch it grow into something great.

Conclusion
Will you get dirty?

Great Expectations: The Light of Advent

The First Sunday of Advent
Today is the fourth Sunday before Christmas. That means it is the first Sunday of Advent. But what does that mean? Well, it means a new sermon series, that’s for sure. But what else does it mean? What is Advent all about? I’m so glad you asked.

Advent: to come or arrive.

The word ‘advent’ comes from Latin. It literally means: to come or to arrive. It creates a sense of patient waiting and expectation. That’s why we’re calling this sermon series, “Great Expectations.” Advent is all about expectancy.

Advent calendars
My first exposure to advent that I can remember was in High School. I was part of a club that was trying to raise money one year by selling advent calendars. I didn’t know what advent was, but I was given a bunch of these calendars to sell. The calendars were square, made out of cardboard, with a little thickness to them. On the front were pictures of December and Christmas. In the cardboard were little perforated doors with the numbers one through twenty-five on them. On the first day of December you punch out the little door, open it up, and inside was a piece of chocolate in the shape of a toy or something. On the second day you open the little door marked number two, and inside was a piece of chocolate in the shape of a snowflake. This goes each day until the 25th, Christmas Day, and behind that little door is the biggest piece of chocolate of all.

So I had all of these calendars to sell. I wasn’t much of a salesman, but I knew that a salesman had to believe in his product, so I took one out and gave it a try. Door one opened. First chocolate found and tasted.

I found out that the little doors actually could be opened before the day on the door. “I wonder what the shape is behind door two?” I opened it. Then door three, door four, door five. You get the idea. I don’t remember for sure, but I don’t think I actually sold a single calendar that year. And I don’t think a single one of them actually made it unopened until December 25th. (Great fundraiser -- I paid for each one.)

Advent stories
Years ago we found out about advent stories that you can start at the beginning of advent, reading a portion of the story each night with your family, concluding on Christmas day. (I didn’t read ahead. There was no chocolate involved.)

Advent wreaths
Many of you are aware of advent wreaths. These are green wreaths that sit on a table with a place around the wreath for four candles. The candles are lit during the four Sundays before Christmas, the four Sundays that make up advent.

*** Ushers: Pass out candles ***

Candle 1 – The Prophet’s candle.

This is traditionally a purple candle. It represents the hope of Jesus’ arrival that was given to the prophets of the Old Testament who foretold the coming of the Messiah.

Candle 2 – The Bethlehem candle.

This candle is also purple. It reminds us that God came in a humble manner to a small town called Bethlehem. (It also represents preparation.)

Candle 3 – The Shepherd’s candle.

This candle is traditionally pink, or rose, signifying that advent is now half over. Its focus is the joy that the shepherds had when they heard the message and went to see Jesus.

Candle 4 – The Angel’s candle.

This candle is purple, like the first two. It speaks about the angel’s message of peace and good news to all men.

There is a fifth candle. It is a white candle. It is not part of the wreath, but placed in the center and is lit on Christmas Day. It is called The Christ Candle.

The Light of Advent is Jesus

Jesus came as God in the flesh. Just as the prophets foretold, to the small town of Bethlehem, as the Shepherd’s witnessed and about whom the Angels sang. Jesus is the center, the focus, the reason and the meaning of Advent.

We will be dealing over the next few weeks with traditional advent themes. This week we will talk about the Light of Advent, Who is Jesus. We will also talk about the Faith of Advent, the Hope of Advent and the Promise of Advent.

John 1:1-18 (NKJV)
1 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 nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
THE GREAT ADVENTURE

Jesus is the Light of Advent:

1. To see what we never could have seen.

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. v.5
That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. v.9
No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. v.18

The basic position of an agnostic is that there may be a God, but there is really no way to know if there is one or not. An atheist says there is no God. That’s a tough position to prove. An agnostic gets around the need for proof by saying, “He may be out there but we’ll never know because He is too far beyond us.”

It would be true that we would not be able to know God if He hadn’t chosen to reveal Himself to us. “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.” This is not a natural understanding, but a supernatural one. It is called revelation.

 Revelation

Real blindness
A friend of mine from college was in a car accident and lost his sight entirely. I spent some time with him in Portland recently. I asked him if he was entirely blind or if he could make out some blurry shapes. He said he was totally blind. He said, “You could turn a light on in a dark room and I wouldn’t even know it.”

Jesus came to give us spiritual light and to provide spiritual sight to see what we never would have seen otherwise. What is that? God. (verse 18)

Hebrews 1:1-3 (NKJV)
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Colossians 1:15 (NKJV)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

John 14:8-9 (NKJV)
8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

We can see supernaturally what we never could have seen naturally.

2. To be what we never could have been.

Did anything look familiar to you when we began reading this passage? “In the beginning…” If you think you’ve seen it somewhere before, you have. John had heard it before too.

Genesis 1:1-3 (NKJV)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

There are numerous, significant similarities between the beginning of John’s gospel and these verses in the creation account: beginning, God, created, darkness, “God said”/the Word, and light. This is no coincidence. It is also not a case of plagiarism, as if John was copying another writer.

Genesis 1 is the story of creation. John 1 is the story of re-creation.

 Re-Creation

Since Genesis 1:1 there has been a supernatural story running right alongside of the story of creation and natural history. Jesus came to ignite that supernatural part of the story. He came to ignite a spiritual reality that is naturally impossible:

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. v.12-13

Notice the distinction being made here between the natural and the supernatural. Three things are mentioned here in the negative:

Blood: It is not a lineage issue, passed on from one family member to another;

Flesh: It is not a matter of strength or natural drives;

Man: It is not culturally or intellectually attained.

“But of God.” We are talking about spiritual re-creation. Scripture says, “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation.” You no longer need to be driven by or limited to who you are, naturally. Jesus came to take you beyond that.

We can be supernaturally who we never could have been naturally, Children of God.

3. To know who we never could have known.

I am not talking about knowing intellectually, but knowing relationally. Jesus came as the light of advent to make possible supernaturally relationships that would be impossible naturally.

 Relationship

This supernatural relationship begins with God. Jesus came to warm that relationship that had turned cold. It doesn’t stop there.

And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. v.16

Grace
Consider the word ‘grace.’ It means ‘unmerited favor,’ or simply getting more than you deserve. It is relational generosity. It is overlooking faults and extending unconditional love. It is extending forgiveness when wrongs have been committed.

The word grace is used 23 times in the Old Testament. There are 929 chapters in the Old Testament. On average, ‘grace’ is used once every 40 chapters.

The word grace is used 128 times in the New Testament. The New Testament is much smaller than the Old Testament. There are only 260 chapters. That means that grace is used on average once in every two chapters, or every other chapter. The New Testament is a Grace Explosion!

Grace for grace
Now here is an interesting phrase, “grace for grace.” It is clearly speaking of a great abundance of grace. You know when parents of multiple kids have a limited amount of rooms to put them in they use bunk beds. Well, this is bunk grace. Grace on top of grace. More grace than there is room for. But that’s not all.

It is grace for grace. You have grace for the purpose of showing grace to others. The flame of a candle can be extended without being diminished. If you are holding a lit candle and I need a light on my candle I might ask you to light my candle with yours. If you say to me, “I’d really like to, but I can’t give you a light because I need all the flame for myself. I can’t spare any.” That wouldn’t make sense. You can light my candle and another candle and another candle and another candle without losing any of your flame. That’s what it means to be extended without being diminished.

Grace is like that. The supply to you is unlimited. It is also for you to pass on to others. This supernatural relationship is not just about you and God. It is also about you and other people.

Grace: unmerited favor, relational generosity, unconditional love, forgiveness. God extended it to you so you could extend it to others.

The Peace Village
A friend of mine just got back from Rwanda, Africa, where she visited a place called the Peace Village. During the mass genocide a million people were killed in tribal wars over a hundred day period. Pastor Gahigi’s wife and five kids were all killed by a man from a rival tribe. This same man hunted Pastor Gahigi for three months to kill him, too.

It took four or five years of bitterness before Pastor Gahigi was able to finally and fully forgive. He began ministering in a prison containing the very people who killed his family and others in the village. Then he met the man in prison who had killed his own wife and five kids. God gave him complete forgiveness for this man.

Pastor Gahigi began the Peace Village, where previous victims and perpetrators lived together, including Pastor Gahigi and the man who killed his family. The man told Pastor Gahigi he knew for sure that the forgiveness was for real when they were working on a building together with the pastor at the top of the wall and the other man down below. When Pastor Gahigi was handed large bricks and he didn’t throw them down on this man, he knew that he was really forgiven.

Grace for grace is for you to have relationships that go beyond natural relationships. Don’t seek to hurt those who have hurt you. Forgive. Be generous in relationships.

CONCLUSION

The sixth candle of advent
What you hold in your hand is the sixth candle of advent. Jesus is the light of the world. His light inspired the prophets to talk about his arrival. His light shone in the humble city of Bethlehem. His light was seen by the shepherds and heralded by the angels.

But that’s not all. His light comes to people like me. Like you. You’re the sixth candle of advent. Will you receive His light to see what you could not have seen; to be what you could not have been; and to know who you could not have known? Are there relationships in your life where you need to extend grace?