AN UNLIKELY BATTLE PLAN
- The Immortal becomes mortal
- Death defeats death
The Bible is filled with war. Especially in the Old Testament there were a lot of battles and a lot of killing and a lot of blood. God’s people seemed to be constantly fighting different enemies at any given time and, for the most part, the Lord made sure that the Israelites usually came out on top. But as a person reads about these different wars that are recorded for us in Old Testament history, it doesn’t take a military strategist to see that the Lord occasionally came up with some very unlikely battle plans for his people. Some of the fights were fairly straightforward and nothing out of the ordinary happened; but there were other times in which the Lord purposely asked his people to do something that was completely contrary to the normal tactics of war.
For example, when the Israelites were just fresh out of the land of Egypt and encamped on the shores of the Red Sea, Pharaoh and his entire army came after them. But instead of turning around to fight their former captors, the Lord had Moses stretch out his hands over the water, part the sea right down the middle, and guide the people of Israel through that body of water on dry land to the other side. And, of course, that unlikely battle plan worked! The Lord sent the water back down over the heads of the Egyptian army when they tried to cross the sea behind them and so the Israelites defeated this experienced group of warriors without losing a single person.
Years later, right after the nation of Israel crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land, the Lord laid out another unlikely plan to capture the city of Jericho. “March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in” (Joshua 6:3-5). It was a strange plan, it was a ridiculous plan, but it was what God told them to do. And so that’s what the people did: they marched around the city, they blew the trumpets, they shouted, and the walls of Jericho tumbled to the ground just like that Lord had planned.
A couple hundred years after that a man named Gideon was the leader of God’s people. And he found himself in a difficult situation: his 32,000 soldiers were up against 135,000 Midianites. But the Lord said to him, “You have too many men for me to give you the victory. Tell anyone who wants to go home that they can.” And so 22,000 soldiers took the Lord up on his offer and left, leaving Gideon with only 10,000 men. He was now outnumbered more than 13 to 1. But the Lord came to Gideon again and said, “Your army is still too large. Have them take a drink of water from the river, and keep only those who drink out of their hands instead of putting their faces in the water.” After that little exercise, only 300 men were left. But with those 300 men, torches in one hand, trumpets in the other, and weapons in neither, the Lord miraculously threw the Midianite army into confusing and they ended up killing each other. The Lord’s unlikely battle plan worked again, without Gideon losing even one of his 300 men.
Throughout the Bible the Lord gained the victory for his people is some highly unlikely ways. But no military engagement of Old Testament lore, no incredible rescue of God’s people, no improbable outcome from a seemingly impossible situation can even come close to comparing to the unlikely battle plan the Lord carried out to save us. The Lord’s unlikely battle plan to rescue us from death and the devil was a bizarre two-pronged attack: 1) The Immortal God would become a mortal human being and 2) Death would defeat death. That was it. That was the Master Plan. And it doesn’t make sense to the normal human mind! No colonel or general or man of war would agree with this tactic. But it’s the plan the Lord had chosen. It’s the plan he carried out. And it worked. The Lord’s unlikely battle plan was exactly what had to be done even though it seemed ridiculous to everyone else at the time and to most people still today. Listen to how the writer to the Hebrews describes this absurd plan for our salvation: “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” The Immortal becomes mortal! Death defeats death! It seems so preposterous if we really think about it!
God is immortal. By his very nature he is unable to die. He has existed for all eternity. He does not have a beginning and he does not have an end. He is in control of all things. He cannot be affected in any adverse way by anything at any time. And so the devil could not touch him. The devil could not harm him. In fact, the devil was thrown out of heaven and into hell by the immortal God for rebelling against him. And Satan could do nothing about it. The devil had to take his punishment without so much as a word in complaint because he was powerless against the Lord and his will.
But then the Immortal decided to become mortal. And the devil must have been thrilled! God had become a man! The Lord had seemingly taken off every piece his armor and allowed Satan and all of his murdering cohorts to surround him! Jesus as a true human being placed himself on this earth in a position of vulnerability and permitted the devil to take as many pot shots at him as he wanted. The Lord opened himself up to be attacked. He stepped out of the confines of the castle and onto the front lines of the battle field - all alone. And there he stood - all alone - taking on the full fury of Satan’s hate and jealousy and rage. Because don’t think for a second that the devil ever let up while Jesus was on this earth. He finally had the Lord right where he wanted him: in a place where he could attack him and hurt him and punish him. Christ lived for 33 years on this earth and you can be sure that the devil was right there every step of the way pushing and pulling and poking and prodding and pounding and pounding and pounding as hard as he could… The Immortal and become mortal and the devil was going to take advantage of that opportunity as long as he was able to do so.
What an unlikely battle plan! What an incomprehensible plan of action to win back our souls! You would think that the great and glorious God of our lives would be able to come up with something a little less painful for himself. You would think he could have concocted a plan in which he avoided any discomfort on his own part. But there was no other way. God had to become a man. He had to take the punishment and the beatings. He had to suffer because the only way human beings could be saved was if one of their own suffered and died in their place. And that’s the second part of this unlikely battle plan: death.
Needless to say, death is usually not the objective of any rescue mission. Death might be unavoidable in some cases, but it is not part of the plan and it is certainly not desired. Because death is frightening. Death is not nice. Death is the ripping away of soul from body and the ending of everything we’ve ever known. But death not only has physical implications, it has spiritual implications on this earth as well: death is really the ultimate indication that a person is sinful.
People show their sinfulness in many ways, of course, and we are no different. From the moment we are born we display a brazen sinfulness that is obvious to anyone who sees us in action. And throughout our lives we continue to demonstrate our imperfections: selfishness, laziness, greed, guilt, perversion, pride… the list is endless. But over time we also get pretty good at covering them up, don’t we? We can excuse them or hide them or put up a nice looking façade so that others don’t notice how sinful we really are underneath. But death, death can’t be ignored. The final result of sin in this life can’t be excused or hidden or covered up. When someone dies it is painfully clear to everyone what has just happened. And death makes no exceptions. Death seizes even the most upright and respectable of Christians because death is the ultimate indication that a person is sinful. If a person would never sin, that person would never die. It’s not natural to die. It wasn’t originally the way it was supposed to happen. Life wasn’t supposed to end.
But death was the intention of the Lord the entire time. He planned to die. He even wanted to die in a sense because he knew that was the way he would defeat death. If he would die in our place, he could then rise from the dead and break the chains of the grave forever. It was another unlikely move in the Lord’s campaign against our enemies, but it worked. And it worked even though no one thought it would. His disciples didn’t think this plan would work! Remember how many times Peter and the other eleven disciples with him were confused at Jesus’ words or ignored Jesus’ predictions or even rebuked Jesus for the plans he shared with them? They were not convinced that Jesus’ death would turn out for the best. And the Lord’s enemies certainly didn’t think it would work either. They plotted Jesus’ death, they organized his death, they even pressured the Roman rulers to authorize his death. And when Jesus was dying on the cross they mocked him for it: “‘He saved others, they said, ‘but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him’” (Matthew 27:42)! And I’m sure Satan didn’t think God’s unlikely plan to die would work. In fact, the devil probably thought it was his own plan. After all, it was the devil who had convinced Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus; the devil had moved the hearts of the Jewish leaders to hate Jesus; the devil had prompted the Israelite people and the Roman soldiers to work together in order to carry out this crucifixion of the Lord. The devil was probably happy that Jesus was there, bleeding to death, suffering abandonment from his own Father, being mocked by those who had every reason to love him. No one thought that Jesus would be able to secure the victory for himself and his people through death.
But then Jesus died. And the devil was one of the first ones to find out that this unlikely battle plan of the Lord had somehow worked! The apostle Peter says in his first letter that after his death Jesus went back down to hell and preached his victory to those who were there - including the devil. The Lord’s death had actually defeated death! Anyone who believed in Jesus’ sacrifice would now never have to face an eternal punishment in hell at their own death. They would be saved! They would be rescued from this impending eternal torture because death had been turned into an entrance into heaven and the devil had been stripped of the most powerful weapon he once had at his disposal. Because of Jesus’ death our death no longer needs to be feared because although it is still the ultimate indication that we are sinners, it is now also the ultimate indication that we are saved.
The Lord’s unlikely battle plan to save our souls was perfectly executed. God became man in order to disable the angel who wanted to be God. And then God defeated the power of death with his own death and his miraculous resurrection. Nothing like this had ever been seen before and nothing like it will ever be seen again. Because it was not only an unlikely battle plan, it was completely unique and one of a kind. It will never be duplicated again - mainly because it doesn’t have to be. Although the enemy is still around, the battle has already been won. Although death still has to be faced, it will only bring us face to face with our Savior. The Lord’s unlikely battle plan has worked. He has gained the victory, which means you have gained the victory as well. And you can be sure that you will one day join in the victory celebration with the Mastermind behind the plan.
Amen.
“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory.” - Revelation 19:6-7
Sunday, December 27, 2009
12/24/09 - Christmas Eve - Luke 1:35
THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT IS ALL ABOUT GIVING
I was watching a cartoon with my kids the other day and one of the characters who is usually a little mean and inconsiderate to others decided to give something back instead of take something away. And when he showed that kind of generous attitude another character standing next to him said, “That’s the Christmas spirit!” “The Christmas spirit” - we’re all familiar with that phrase because it’s used so often during this time of the year. And as far as our culture is concerned, “the Christmas spirit” is all about giving, isn’t it? It is almost an unspoken rule that this is the season in which people are supposed to be more helpful and more patient and more forgiving and more generous than they usually are. Even those who wouldn’t necessarily call themselves Christians are swept up by this cultural mindset. Charities understand this concept very well. Most charitable organizations in this country, religious or secular, bank on the fact that they will take in more than half of their annual donations during the last three months of the year - because this is the time when people feel like giving the most. That’s why the Salvation Army places their bell ringers in front of every store during the Christmas season. That’s why you get letters from all those organizations asking for your contributions during the month of December. They are all hoping that you are affected with “the Christmas spirit” - they are hoping that you have been moved to give.
The Christmas Spirit is all about giving. But as we have already seen in our worship service tonight, we aren’t talking about a loving attitude or a generous mindset or a warm and fuzzy mood that this special time of year puts you in; when we refer to the “Christmas Spirit” we’re talking about the Spirit with a capital “S” - the Holy Spirit. This “Christmas Spirit” is all about giving because two thousands years ago in a non-descript barn on the edge of a little Judean town called Bethlehem the Holy Spirit gave us the gift of Christ. Now we normally don’t think of the Holy Spirit giving us anything at Christmas, but remember what the angel Gabriel told Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” The Holy Spirit was all about giving on that very first Christmas. He didn’t ask Mary to do anything; he simply gave her a son. And he doesn’t ask us to do anything either. He gives us the same gift he gave to Mary: he gives us our Savior. And it’s the best Christmas present we have ever received.
Of course, we never get anything different from the Holy Spirit each year. The gift doesn’t change. We know that the Holy Spirit will offer us the same thing as he did last year and he’s going to wrap up the same gift for years to come! And because the gift of Christ never changes, Jesus’ birth has the tendency to lose a little bit of its sparkle over time. It’s not quite as exciting after a while when you know it’s coming. It’s not quite as breath-taking as it once was. It’s… it’s just the same. It’s just another year. It’s just another Scripture lesson from the book of Luke about Caesar Augustus and the census and Mary & Joseph and the trip to Bethlehem and the angels and the shepherds... It’s what we’ve known our entire lives. It’s not all that special anymore.
“Oh, but I love Christmas!” you might be saying to yourself. “I would never treat it as something normal or boring! I always look forward to this time of year! Christmas is very special to me!” But what is it exactly that you look forward to during Christmas? I would imagine you enjoy this time of year because of the great music you are able to listen to or the chance to spend time with some family members or the special food that is prepared or the decorations or the shopping sales or the gift giving… And those things are certainly nice blessings that the Lord has supplied for us during this festive season. But if all of those things were taken away, if you happened to be in a place without the music and without the family and without the decorations and without the food, would a Christmas like that still be as special to you as it is now? You would still have the gift, of course, the greatest gift the Holy Spirit has ever given to this world, and you would still have the opportunity to thank and praise him for that gift, but you wouldn’t have any of the “extras”. And I would guess that a Christmas without the extras wouldn’t be as enjoyable to you. I know that it wouldn’t be as enjoyable for me. Because I like those extra things. Those things are what make Christmas “Christmas”! And that is what’s so unfortunate: we are so used to enjoying the other blessings of the Christmas season that Christ’s birth isn’t really enough anymore. Christ’s birth is still the reason for the holiday, of course - none of us would dispute that - but Christ’s birth isn’t always the reason why we like Christmas so much.
My grandmother on my mom’s side always sends us really nice Christmas cards each year. They are multi-page greeting cards that always contain ornate pictures or beautiful paintings of Christ’s birth. This year, like every year, one of the pages had a large section of the Christmas story from Luke chapter two on it. But I didn’t read it. I didn’t bother reading the story about the shepherds and the angels and the baby Jesus in the manger. Why should I? I know the story! I know what happens! I could probably recite it from memory! And so why should I spend time reading it again when I’ve got other mail to sort through and other business to take care of? Why should I read it again? And why should you? Because there is nothing better than this gift. There is nothing more important than this baby. There is nothing else that really matters - at Christmas time or at any other time of the year.
I just have to be reminded about that sometimes. I’m sure we all do. And the best way to be reminded about the importance of the gift of Christ is to be reminded by the Holy Spirit himself through the Word of God. Listen again to the angel Gabriel speaking some very important words to Mary many years ago, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” What an incredible miracle that was! A young woman who had yet to sleep with any man was impregnated by the Holy Spirit himself! The Holy Spirit somehow came upon her, the angel Gabriel explained. The Almighty Lord miraculously overshadowed her with his power like a cloud coming down over a mountain so that her baby would actually be the holy Son of God the Father! What an astounding, incomprehensible gift that is! And yes, you know it all about it, you’ve heard it before, and you’ll hear it again. But it’s still amazing, isn’t it? It’s still mind-blowing that the same God who formed you in the womb of your mother would himself be formed in the womb of a woman. That a God whom this vast universe cannot contain was contained in certain respects in the flesh and bones of a human baby. Don’t let the impressiveness of this event wear off just because you’ve heard it before! And don’t underestimate how important this gift from the Holy Spirit really is! Because the gift of Christ that the Holy Spirit gave us on that Christmas day in Bethlehem was a gift that we could never afford on our own.
You will probably receive any number of different Christmas presents this year. Some of them will be small gifts and some of them will be a little bigger. But no matter how expensive a present is, you would probably be able to afford it yourself if you really wanted to. Rarely, after you get beyond your childhood years, do you ever receive a gift that you could not afford on your own - a gift so valuable that it is well beyond your means of income, a gift you would not be able to obtain if you had not received it as a present. Those kinds of gifts come around once-in-a-lifetime, if ever.
But this is exactly the kind of gift the Holy Spirit has given you in the birth of Christ. It is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of gift because you wouldn’t be able to afford it on your own. You wouldn’t have the ability to buy it with your own money. You wouldn’t be able to work it off, save up for it, or acquire it in any other way. This gift is well beyond your means of income and it is certainly well beyond mine because the gift of Christ’s birth is our salvation. And you well know that our salvation is something that we cannot contribute to in any way.
Now, we weren’t technically saved from our sins by Christ’s birth, of course, but our salvation was as good as done on that very first Christmas. Because the only reason Christ was born into this world was so that he could one day die for this world. And once he was born there was nothing that was going to stop him from carrying out his Father’s will. No enemy, no king, no devil, no temptation, not even death itself was going to keep Jesus from what he set out to do. He was going to die and his death was going to win forgiveness for every human being who would ever live on this earth. That was the plan. That had always been the plan before God created this world and so that was what was going to happen. There was no doubt about it. And so when the Holy Spirit graciously gave us the gift of Christ on that night in Judea, our salvation was secure.
It’s a good thing that the Christmas Spirit was all about giving. He loves to give. And it wasn’t just a one time deal, he keeps on giving. Even if no one cares about his gifts. Even if we don’t appreciate his gifts as much as we should. He just keeps on giving. He gave us the gift of Christ generations ago and worlds away. He gave us the gift of faith to believe in that Savior. And he keeps giving us opportunities now to see this Christ and to hear this Christ and to rely on this Christ every day. The Christmas Spirit is all about giving. And he will never stop. Make sure to thank him tonight for deciding to give these gifts to you. And this year, open up that present with a little excitement and enthusiasm. Because although you know what the gift is going to be, you’ll never receive anything better.
Amen.
I was watching a cartoon with my kids the other day and one of the characters who is usually a little mean and inconsiderate to others decided to give something back instead of take something away. And when he showed that kind of generous attitude another character standing next to him said, “That’s the Christmas spirit!” “The Christmas spirit” - we’re all familiar with that phrase because it’s used so often during this time of the year. And as far as our culture is concerned, “the Christmas spirit” is all about giving, isn’t it? It is almost an unspoken rule that this is the season in which people are supposed to be more helpful and more patient and more forgiving and more generous than they usually are. Even those who wouldn’t necessarily call themselves Christians are swept up by this cultural mindset. Charities understand this concept very well. Most charitable organizations in this country, religious or secular, bank on the fact that they will take in more than half of their annual donations during the last three months of the year - because this is the time when people feel like giving the most. That’s why the Salvation Army places their bell ringers in front of every store during the Christmas season. That’s why you get letters from all those organizations asking for your contributions during the month of December. They are all hoping that you are affected with “the Christmas spirit” - they are hoping that you have been moved to give.
The Christmas Spirit is all about giving. But as we have already seen in our worship service tonight, we aren’t talking about a loving attitude or a generous mindset or a warm and fuzzy mood that this special time of year puts you in; when we refer to the “Christmas Spirit” we’re talking about the Spirit with a capital “S” - the Holy Spirit. This “Christmas Spirit” is all about giving because two thousands years ago in a non-descript barn on the edge of a little Judean town called Bethlehem the Holy Spirit gave us the gift of Christ. Now we normally don’t think of the Holy Spirit giving us anything at Christmas, but remember what the angel Gabriel told Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” The Holy Spirit was all about giving on that very first Christmas. He didn’t ask Mary to do anything; he simply gave her a son. And he doesn’t ask us to do anything either. He gives us the same gift he gave to Mary: he gives us our Savior. And it’s the best Christmas present we have ever received.
Of course, we never get anything different from the Holy Spirit each year. The gift doesn’t change. We know that the Holy Spirit will offer us the same thing as he did last year and he’s going to wrap up the same gift for years to come! And because the gift of Christ never changes, Jesus’ birth has the tendency to lose a little bit of its sparkle over time. It’s not quite as exciting after a while when you know it’s coming. It’s not quite as breath-taking as it once was. It’s… it’s just the same. It’s just another year. It’s just another Scripture lesson from the book of Luke about Caesar Augustus and the census and Mary & Joseph and the trip to Bethlehem and the angels and the shepherds... It’s what we’ve known our entire lives. It’s not all that special anymore.
“Oh, but I love Christmas!” you might be saying to yourself. “I would never treat it as something normal or boring! I always look forward to this time of year! Christmas is very special to me!” But what is it exactly that you look forward to during Christmas? I would imagine you enjoy this time of year because of the great music you are able to listen to or the chance to spend time with some family members or the special food that is prepared or the decorations or the shopping sales or the gift giving… And those things are certainly nice blessings that the Lord has supplied for us during this festive season. But if all of those things were taken away, if you happened to be in a place without the music and without the family and without the decorations and without the food, would a Christmas like that still be as special to you as it is now? You would still have the gift, of course, the greatest gift the Holy Spirit has ever given to this world, and you would still have the opportunity to thank and praise him for that gift, but you wouldn’t have any of the “extras”. And I would guess that a Christmas without the extras wouldn’t be as enjoyable to you. I know that it wouldn’t be as enjoyable for me. Because I like those extra things. Those things are what make Christmas “Christmas”! And that is what’s so unfortunate: we are so used to enjoying the other blessings of the Christmas season that Christ’s birth isn’t really enough anymore. Christ’s birth is still the reason for the holiday, of course - none of us would dispute that - but Christ’s birth isn’t always the reason why we like Christmas so much.
My grandmother on my mom’s side always sends us really nice Christmas cards each year. They are multi-page greeting cards that always contain ornate pictures or beautiful paintings of Christ’s birth. This year, like every year, one of the pages had a large section of the Christmas story from Luke chapter two on it. But I didn’t read it. I didn’t bother reading the story about the shepherds and the angels and the baby Jesus in the manger. Why should I? I know the story! I know what happens! I could probably recite it from memory! And so why should I spend time reading it again when I’ve got other mail to sort through and other business to take care of? Why should I read it again? And why should you? Because there is nothing better than this gift. There is nothing more important than this baby. There is nothing else that really matters - at Christmas time or at any other time of the year.
I just have to be reminded about that sometimes. I’m sure we all do. And the best way to be reminded about the importance of the gift of Christ is to be reminded by the Holy Spirit himself through the Word of God. Listen again to the angel Gabriel speaking some very important words to Mary many years ago, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” What an incredible miracle that was! A young woman who had yet to sleep with any man was impregnated by the Holy Spirit himself! The Holy Spirit somehow came upon her, the angel Gabriel explained. The Almighty Lord miraculously overshadowed her with his power like a cloud coming down over a mountain so that her baby would actually be the holy Son of God the Father! What an astounding, incomprehensible gift that is! And yes, you know it all about it, you’ve heard it before, and you’ll hear it again. But it’s still amazing, isn’t it? It’s still mind-blowing that the same God who formed you in the womb of your mother would himself be formed in the womb of a woman. That a God whom this vast universe cannot contain was contained in certain respects in the flesh and bones of a human baby. Don’t let the impressiveness of this event wear off just because you’ve heard it before! And don’t underestimate how important this gift from the Holy Spirit really is! Because the gift of Christ that the Holy Spirit gave us on that Christmas day in Bethlehem was a gift that we could never afford on our own.
You will probably receive any number of different Christmas presents this year. Some of them will be small gifts and some of them will be a little bigger. But no matter how expensive a present is, you would probably be able to afford it yourself if you really wanted to. Rarely, after you get beyond your childhood years, do you ever receive a gift that you could not afford on your own - a gift so valuable that it is well beyond your means of income, a gift you would not be able to obtain if you had not received it as a present. Those kinds of gifts come around once-in-a-lifetime, if ever.
But this is exactly the kind of gift the Holy Spirit has given you in the birth of Christ. It is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of gift because you wouldn’t be able to afford it on your own. You wouldn’t have the ability to buy it with your own money. You wouldn’t be able to work it off, save up for it, or acquire it in any other way. This gift is well beyond your means of income and it is certainly well beyond mine because the gift of Christ’s birth is our salvation. And you well know that our salvation is something that we cannot contribute to in any way.
Now, we weren’t technically saved from our sins by Christ’s birth, of course, but our salvation was as good as done on that very first Christmas. Because the only reason Christ was born into this world was so that he could one day die for this world. And once he was born there was nothing that was going to stop him from carrying out his Father’s will. No enemy, no king, no devil, no temptation, not even death itself was going to keep Jesus from what he set out to do. He was going to die and his death was going to win forgiveness for every human being who would ever live on this earth. That was the plan. That had always been the plan before God created this world and so that was what was going to happen. There was no doubt about it. And so when the Holy Spirit graciously gave us the gift of Christ on that night in Judea, our salvation was secure.
It’s a good thing that the Christmas Spirit was all about giving. He loves to give. And it wasn’t just a one time deal, he keeps on giving. Even if no one cares about his gifts. Even if we don’t appreciate his gifts as much as we should. He just keeps on giving. He gave us the gift of Christ generations ago and worlds away. He gave us the gift of faith to believe in that Savior. And he keeps giving us opportunities now to see this Christ and to hear this Christ and to rely on this Christ every day. The Christmas Spirit is all about giving. And he will never stop. Make sure to thank him tonight for deciding to give these gifts to you. And this year, open up that present with a little excitement and enthusiasm. Because although you know what the gift is going to be, you’ll never receive anything better.
Amen.
Monday, December 21, 2009
12/20/09 - Children's Christmas Service - Mary's Little Lamb
"Mary had a Little Lamb, his fleece was white as snow, and everywhere that Mary went the Lamb was sure to go."
Hebrews 4:14-15
"14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin."
Mary’s Lamb went where we were. He was in heaven and we were on earth - and so he came down. He was surrounded by perfection and glory while we were surrounded by the effects of sin - and so he joined us. But the Lamb of God did not just come down to be among us or to simply be with us; the Lamb of God came down to actually be one of us. And he was one of us in every way. The immortal God became a mortal man. And Jesus did not place a protective barrier around himself so that he couldn’t be touched by the pains and evils of this world. Nor did he separate himself from the “normal” human beings in this life so that he would not have to experience any of the temptations. No, we do not have a Savior “who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin.” When Jesus came to this earth he didn’t just cautiously wade out into the pool; he jumped into the deep end. He didn’t just dabble in humanity, he didn’t just taste it; he immersed himself in it. Anything that we suffer, he suffered. Any pain that we feel, he felt. Any temptation we fight, he fought. Jesus was just as human as you are and as I am. Even though he was still true God the entire time, he did not exempt himself from any misfortune that a human being would naturally experience living among sinful people in a sinful world. Everywhere that human beings went the Lamb was sure to go.
And that should be extremely comforting for you to know. Your God who watches over you and cares for you and looks out for you on his throne in heaven is the same God who knows exactly what you’re going through on this earth. He knows what it’s like because he’s been here personally! And he knows what it’s going to take to get you through any situation because he has already made it through every situation himself. Everywhere that you have gone the Lamb has already been.
And so when you pray to him about a problem that you are forced to deal with, he understands. He doesn’t just empathize with your situation; he truly understands exactly what you are facing and he is able to help you. When you go to him because the pain you are experiencing is too much to bear, he understands. He doesn’t just feel sorry for you; he truly understands how much it hurts and he is able to help you. When you cry out to him because life is hard, he understands. He doesn’t just nod his head sympathetically and pat you on the back; he truly understands how difficult this life can be and he is able and he is willing and he is always available to help you. You can go to the Lord at any time with any problem with complete confidence that he is the foremost expert on the subject and he has an answer for you before you ever ask the question.
Mary’s Little Lamb went where we were because that’s where we needed him to be. He went where Satan attacked him every single day. He went where his enemies plotted his death as soon as they knew he existed. He went where everything was sinful in every way all the time. But the Lamb himself remained pure. He remained holy. He remained perfect. Not just so that he could prove he could do it, but because he wanted to give that perfection to you. And through faith in Jesus as your Savior the Lamb’s perfection is all yours. As far as God the Father is concerned, you are sinless because the Lamb of God is sinless. You have been given credit for what the Lamb did! There is no easier way to heaven than that! There is no other way to heaven than through the work of the Lamb of God on this earth in your behalf.
1 Peter 1:18-20
"18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake."
Mary’s Lamb went where we deserved to go. It wasn’t enough for the Lamb of God to come down to this earth and take the form of a human being and undergo all of the temptations that human beings have to experience. The Lamb’s perfection wasn’t even enough because there was still a punishment that was hanging over our heads. And it wasn’t about to go away.
Long ago we were guilty. Long ago the sin we were conceived with and the sins we personally committed condemned us. We were saturated with sin from the very beginning. We were dripping with it. And it’s only gotten worse over the years because the stain of sin doesn’t just go away on its own. The stain gets deeper and more imbedded the longer we live. We have managed to compile an impressive assortment of sin upon sin upon sin in our lives, haven’t we? But the problem is that God himself has promised that just one of those sins deserves eternal punishment in hell itself.
That’s why the Lamb went where we deserved to go. Someone had to do it! Someone had to take the punishment that God promised for sin. Because it’s not as if God could change his mind. God couldn’t simply say, “Oh, I guess I was just kidding about this whole punishment for sin deal.” And he couldn’t decide to make an exception in our case either. Because the Lord cannot break his promises. The Lord is perfect; he is incapable of going back on any promise he has ever made. And so he was bound to the promise of punishment for sin just like he is bound to every other promise that he makes to us. Sin had to be punished; there was no way around it.
And so the Lamb stepped in to take our place. He took the bullet for us, so to speak. He said to his Father, “I know they deserve it. I know they have rightfully earned eternal punishment in hell for all they have done and for who they are. But I want to take the penalty. Punish me. Treat me as if I were the sinner. Turn your back on me. Show your wrath to me. Abandon me. Carry out the punishment as you have promised, but let me suffer so that they don’t have to. I will take it all. I will swallow every last drop of your righteous anger so that there is none left to give to them. I am willing to be their sacrifice. I am willing to spill my own blood.” And that’s exactly what the Lamb did. He spilled his blood for you. And so now you are saved “through the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect.”
Way back in the early beginnings of the Israelite nation, you might remember that they were enslaved in the land of Egypt. When Pharaoh refused to let God’s people leave, the Lord sent 10 plagues to convince him otherwise. The tenth and final plague was the death of the first born son of every family in the entire country. The one exception was that if any family slaughtered a young male lamb without blemish or defect and spread its blood over the doorframe of their house, the angel sent to kill all of the first born sons would pass over that home and their child would be spared. This event became known as The Passover and the Israelites were to celebrate it every year. Scripture clearly calls Christ our Passover Lamb because the precious blood of our unblemished Lamb has saved us. He has taken the punishment in our place. Eternal death has passed us by. The Lamb went where we deserved to go so that we never have to.
Revelation 7:9-17
9After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." 11All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" 13Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?"
14I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. 17For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
Mary’s Lamb went where we will always be. He had come down to this earth and lived a life as a human being because that’s where we were. He had gone down to hell too, suffering an eternity of pain while he still hung on the cross because that’s where we deserved to be. But then Mary’s Lamb went where she and we will one day go. He went back to heaven. And now he sits on his throne. He rules all people. He continues to welcome a new group of believers into his mansion every day. And there the Lamb is waiting for the rest of us. And when we arrive we will be wearing the white robes of the saints that are washed in the blood of the Lamb and we will be joining in this song of praise with those already there: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And we will sing this verse of this song because the Lamb at the center of the throne will be our Shepherd. He will lead us to springs of living water. And every tear will forever be wiped away from our eyes.
This isn’t something we normally think about during the Christmas season. Heaven doesn’t always cross our minds when we look into a manger scene and see a little baby Jesus lying on a pile of straw. But Mary’s Lamb who is lying in that stable is the same Lamb of God who is sitting on the throne. And so do not mistake this Lamb in Bethlehem as being completely vulnerable. He is the same Lamb to whom the angels in heaven sing: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever.” And do not simply look at this little Lamb surrounded by shepherds and their sheep only as a child of peace. He certainly gives us peace through salvation, but this is also the same Lamb of God who came to do battle against our enemies and to wash his sheep clean with his blood on the cross. This Lamb is more than a sweet little child. He is your mighty God. He is your Savior. And one day you will join him in the place that he has died to win and that he is preparing for you right now as we speak.
Mary had a Little Lamb, his fleece was white as snow. And now the place where this Lamb went, his sheep are sure to go.
Hebrews 4:14-15
"14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin."
Mary’s Lamb went where we were. He was in heaven and we were on earth - and so he came down. He was surrounded by perfection and glory while we were surrounded by the effects of sin - and so he joined us. But the Lamb of God did not just come down to be among us or to simply be with us; the Lamb of God came down to actually be one of us. And he was one of us in every way. The immortal God became a mortal man. And Jesus did not place a protective barrier around himself so that he couldn’t be touched by the pains and evils of this world. Nor did he separate himself from the “normal” human beings in this life so that he would not have to experience any of the temptations. No, we do not have a Savior “who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin.” When Jesus came to this earth he didn’t just cautiously wade out into the pool; he jumped into the deep end. He didn’t just dabble in humanity, he didn’t just taste it; he immersed himself in it. Anything that we suffer, he suffered. Any pain that we feel, he felt. Any temptation we fight, he fought. Jesus was just as human as you are and as I am. Even though he was still true God the entire time, he did not exempt himself from any misfortune that a human being would naturally experience living among sinful people in a sinful world. Everywhere that human beings went the Lamb was sure to go.
And that should be extremely comforting for you to know. Your God who watches over you and cares for you and looks out for you on his throne in heaven is the same God who knows exactly what you’re going through on this earth. He knows what it’s like because he’s been here personally! And he knows what it’s going to take to get you through any situation because he has already made it through every situation himself. Everywhere that you have gone the Lamb has already been.
And so when you pray to him about a problem that you are forced to deal with, he understands. He doesn’t just empathize with your situation; he truly understands exactly what you are facing and he is able to help you. When you go to him because the pain you are experiencing is too much to bear, he understands. He doesn’t just feel sorry for you; he truly understands how much it hurts and he is able to help you. When you cry out to him because life is hard, he understands. He doesn’t just nod his head sympathetically and pat you on the back; he truly understands how difficult this life can be and he is able and he is willing and he is always available to help you. You can go to the Lord at any time with any problem with complete confidence that he is the foremost expert on the subject and he has an answer for you before you ever ask the question.
Mary’s Little Lamb went where we were because that’s where we needed him to be. He went where Satan attacked him every single day. He went where his enemies plotted his death as soon as they knew he existed. He went where everything was sinful in every way all the time. But the Lamb himself remained pure. He remained holy. He remained perfect. Not just so that he could prove he could do it, but because he wanted to give that perfection to you. And through faith in Jesus as your Savior the Lamb’s perfection is all yours. As far as God the Father is concerned, you are sinless because the Lamb of God is sinless. You have been given credit for what the Lamb did! There is no easier way to heaven than that! There is no other way to heaven than through the work of the Lamb of God on this earth in your behalf.
1 Peter 1:18-20
"18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake."
Mary’s Lamb went where we deserved to go. It wasn’t enough for the Lamb of God to come down to this earth and take the form of a human being and undergo all of the temptations that human beings have to experience. The Lamb’s perfection wasn’t even enough because there was still a punishment that was hanging over our heads. And it wasn’t about to go away.
Long ago we were guilty. Long ago the sin we were conceived with and the sins we personally committed condemned us. We were saturated with sin from the very beginning. We were dripping with it. And it’s only gotten worse over the years because the stain of sin doesn’t just go away on its own. The stain gets deeper and more imbedded the longer we live. We have managed to compile an impressive assortment of sin upon sin upon sin in our lives, haven’t we? But the problem is that God himself has promised that just one of those sins deserves eternal punishment in hell itself.
That’s why the Lamb went where we deserved to go. Someone had to do it! Someone had to take the punishment that God promised for sin. Because it’s not as if God could change his mind. God couldn’t simply say, “Oh, I guess I was just kidding about this whole punishment for sin deal.” And he couldn’t decide to make an exception in our case either. Because the Lord cannot break his promises. The Lord is perfect; he is incapable of going back on any promise he has ever made. And so he was bound to the promise of punishment for sin just like he is bound to every other promise that he makes to us. Sin had to be punished; there was no way around it.
And so the Lamb stepped in to take our place. He took the bullet for us, so to speak. He said to his Father, “I know they deserve it. I know they have rightfully earned eternal punishment in hell for all they have done and for who they are. But I want to take the penalty. Punish me. Treat me as if I were the sinner. Turn your back on me. Show your wrath to me. Abandon me. Carry out the punishment as you have promised, but let me suffer so that they don’t have to. I will take it all. I will swallow every last drop of your righteous anger so that there is none left to give to them. I am willing to be their sacrifice. I am willing to spill my own blood.” And that’s exactly what the Lamb did. He spilled his blood for you. And so now you are saved “through the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect.”
Way back in the early beginnings of the Israelite nation, you might remember that they were enslaved in the land of Egypt. When Pharaoh refused to let God’s people leave, the Lord sent 10 plagues to convince him otherwise. The tenth and final plague was the death of the first born son of every family in the entire country. The one exception was that if any family slaughtered a young male lamb without blemish or defect and spread its blood over the doorframe of their house, the angel sent to kill all of the first born sons would pass over that home and their child would be spared. This event became known as The Passover and the Israelites were to celebrate it every year. Scripture clearly calls Christ our Passover Lamb because the precious blood of our unblemished Lamb has saved us. He has taken the punishment in our place. Eternal death has passed us by. The Lamb went where we deserved to go so that we never have to.
Revelation 7:9-17
9After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." 11All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" 13Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?"
14I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. 17For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
Mary’s Lamb went where we will always be. He had come down to this earth and lived a life as a human being because that’s where we were. He had gone down to hell too, suffering an eternity of pain while he still hung on the cross because that’s where we deserved to be. But then Mary’s Lamb went where she and we will one day go. He went back to heaven. And now he sits on his throne. He rules all people. He continues to welcome a new group of believers into his mansion every day. And there the Lamb is waiting for the rest of us. And when we arrive we will be wearing the white robes of the saints that are washed in the blood of the Lamb and we will be joining in this song of praise with those already there: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And we will sing this verse of this song because the Lamb at the center of the throne will be our Shepherd. He will lead us to springs of living water. And every tear will forever be wiped away from our eyes.
This isn’t something we normally think about during the Christmas season. Heaven doesn’t always cross our minds when we look into a manger scene and see a little baby Jesus lying on a pile of straw. But Mary’s Lamb who is lying in that stable is the same Lamb of God who is sitting on the throne. And so do not mistake this Lamb in Bethlehem as being completely vulnerable. He is the same Lamb to whom the angels in heaven sing: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever.” And do not simply look at this little Lamb surrounded by shepherds and their sheep only as a child of peace. He certainly gives us peace through salvation, but this is also the same Lamb of God who came to do battle against our enemies and to wash his sheep clean with his blood on the cross. This Lamb is more than a sweet little child. He is your mighty God. He is your Savior. And one day you will join him in the place that he has died to win and that he is preparing for you right now as we speak.
Mary had a Little Lamb, his fleece was white as snow. And now the place where this Lamb went, his sheep are sure to go.
Monday, December 14, 2009
12/13/09 - Advent 3 - Zephaniah 3:14-17
IT'S GOING TO BE OK
- You will have to suffer in this life
- You will be quieted with Christ's love
Josiah was the last good king of the people of Israel. There were four kings that came after him in the land of Judah, but they were life-time unbelievers and refused to listen to God’s Word, dragging the Israelite people down with them. Josiah was the last God-fearing ruler the nation had. In fact, just five years after Josiah passed away, God send the Babylonian army to take some of the Israelites into exile for the first time. The reign of Josiah was really the final spiritual bright spot before everything went down hill. The book of the Law that had been lost for generations was discovered in the temple during the reign of Josiah. The Israelites repented of their sins and trusted in God’s promises once again during the reign of Josiah. And during this time of spiritual renewal is when the prophet Zephaniah served the people as well.
You may not know a whole lot about Zephaniah other than there’s a short book of the Bible with that name, but it’s no matter. The important thing to remember about Zephaniah is this: he was God’s prophet during the time of King Josiah, and during those days Zephaniah spoke to the people about two things that they could expect in the future: their punishment of exile as well as their salvation in the Lord. We have in front of us today a section near the end of his book. And here, after he speaks to them about the punishment they would receive, he concludes God’s word to the people like this: “16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem, ‘Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. 17 The LORD your God is with you, he is a mighty warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.’" “It’s going to be OK,” is really what Zephaniah is saying here. Yes, they would face some terrible things in the near future: pain and death and exile - and they were going to deserve it! But the Lord is a mighty warrior who saves and he would quiet them with his love. It was going to be OK. These were words that the prophet Zephaniah wanted the people to take with them in the days ahead. And these are words that he wants us to remember in the days that are to come in our lives. Because just like the Israelites were about to face some difficulties in the coming years: there will be some tough times for us in the near future too.
Because if there’s anything you can be sure of in this life, it’s that you will suffer pain and you will have to deal with some difficult problems and you will have to stare death in the face: your own death and the death of others around you. You know from experience that this life is not always all that fun. This life is not especially pleasant at times. This life is not smooth sailing on a calm lake; it’s a rough and tumultuous fight for survival in a deep and stormy sea. You will be confronted with tragedies and atrocities in this life. And you know what? You’ll deserve every bit of it! Any misfortune that you have to suffer in this world will be well-deserved! You will have no right to complain about it or to cry out, “Why me?” You won’t be allowed to say, “It’s not fair!” Because you will be far more guilty than anything you will ever have to suffer. The unpleasantries that you will suffer in the years ahead will not even come close to what your sins deserve.
Now let me be clear: I am not saying that every bad thing you have to go through in this life is a direct result of a specific sin you have committed. That is not the case at all. Sometimes bad things happen to Christians simply because we live in a sinful world. But this is also true: We have broken every one of God’s commandments a thousand times over. We have ignored his words, we have doubted his promises, we have loved ourselves more than we have loved God on far too many occasions. We don’t deserve a breath of fresh air. We don’t deserve to have the sun to shine on our faces. We don’t deserve to have the Lord waste a thought on us, let alone guide us and guard us and protect us and lead us every day of our entire lives. And so when we actually do undergo serious pain or unbearable calamities in this life that bring us to our knees, know that these things are nothing compared to what we have earned for ourselves. We deserve those every one of those terrible things and much more - whether they are a direct result of our own personal sins or not!
Zephaniah told the Israelites that they were going to deserve future punishment as well. In fact, Zephaniah spends the entire first chapter of his book explaining this judgment on the people of Judah. He then uses the entire second chapter describing the punishment that the Lord would bring on every other nation when he comes in all his glory. But the third chapter is different. In the third chapter, in the final chapter of his book, Zephaniah’s words are full of hope and joy and salvation. He tells his hearers that although they were going to experience some difficult times in the years ahead, everything was going to be OK. The Lord as their Mighty Warrior would deliver them, and he would quiet them with his love.
It would take 70 years for that to happen, however. These Israelites were in Babylon, the land of their exile, for 70 years. And during that time I’m sure there was a lot of complaining and a lot of groaning and a lot of grumbling and a lot of questioning and a lot of frustration. But the Lord finally did quiet them with his love. As their Mighty Warrior he brought them back to the Promised Land, he moved the heart of the king of Persia to supply them with money from the royal treasury, and he allowed his people to rebuild and restore the city of Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord. Their worries and complaining and grumbling and fears were quieted with his love.
Of course, that was not the end of their troubles. Many things happened to the Jewish nation over the following centuries that caused them to question the Lord’s power and to cry out in despair again. And so the Lord quieted them with his love again. Not by bringing them back to the land of Israel this time, but by personally coming to the land of Israel himself. He quieted them with his love not by allowing them to again rebuild the temple of God, but by allowing them to actually see God in human flesh with their own eyes. The worries of all Old Testament believers were quieted in one night by the labor screams of Mary in a Bethlehem barn. The doubts of all Old Testament believers were quieted in one night by the heaven-shaking angelic songs of praise to the shepherds in those fields nearby that little town. The fears of all Old Testament believers were quieted in one night by the shouts of joy from those same shepherds as they told everyone they saw about that incredible miracle of salvation. The pain of God’s people was over that night. The punishment that was set for sinners was canceled. And every contradictory word that had ever been spoken about Christ’s power and his promises was quieted that evening because the Mighty Warrior had come, he had came as a baby, and he had come with the full extent of his love.
We will celebrate the coming of that Mighty Warrior in just a week and a half. We will sing those familiar Christmas songs. We will hear those familiar Christmas stories. And we will be reminded once again just as those believers were back then, that everything is going to be OK. Christ has come for us in love; and in love he will come again. And so in the coming days and weeks if you ever find yourself complaining about anything, just be quiet for a second and take a look at the Lord’s love for you that he demonstrated in the manger of Bethlehem. Is there really anything to complain about? In the coming months if you ever find yourself worrying about something, just be quiet for a second and take a look at the Lord’s love for you while he lived on this earth: suffering every temptation and pain imaginable on your behalf. Is there really anything to worry about? In the coming years if you ever find yourself afraid of what the future will bring for you and your family, just be quiet for a second, settle down, and take a good long hard look at the Lord’s love for you on the cross and out of the tomb and into heaven and on his throne. Is there really anything to be afraid of? The Lord will quiet your complaining and worries and fears, and he will quiet them with his love. He will calm you. He will comfort you. And he will remind you in his Word that anything you have to go through in this life he has already gone through for you himself - and so it’s is going to be OK.
In the coming days and months and years you will have to struggle with many things. And when you find yourself struggling with a severe pain, remember: so has Christ. He struggled with pain far beyond anything we could imagine. And in his love he promises that your pain will soon be over when you reach your home in heaven. When you find yourself struggling with a specific sin, remember: so has Christ. He has been tempted with that same sin too. He has even suffered the punishment for that sin. And in his love he promises that all of your sins are forgiven long before you ever commit them. When you find yourself struggling with a death of someone close to your heart, remember: so has Christ. He lost those he cared for and, in fact, he has suffered death himself. He knows what it’s like. He knows how awful death is. But in his love he also rose from the dead and he promises that everyone who believes in him will rise from the dead as well. When those times come in your life in which you find yourself struggling with your health or with your mind or with your job or with your family or with your faith, know this: it’s going to be OK. In fact, it’s going to be great! The Lord will use whatever unpleasant thing that is happening to you at the moment to strengthen your faith and secure your salvation. He will come through for you when you need him the most. “He will take great delight in you,” Zephaniah says. “He will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” He is your Father after all and you are his children. He will never let anything happen to you that isn’t for your good.
And so it’s going to be OK. I don’t know how. I don’t know when. I don’t know where. But I do know why. It’s going to be OK because the Lord will quiet you with his love. He will rescue you with hands that once had nails driven through them. He will hold you by his side that was once pierced with a spear. He will let you rest your head on his shoulders that had at one time carried your sins to the cross. The Lord will make sure that you are taken care of. He will soothe your worries with his Word. He will give you peace through his promises. He will quiet you with his love. It’s going to be OK. It’s going to be OK.
Amen.
“The peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:7
- You will have to suffer in this life
- You will be quieted with Christ's love
Josiah was the last good king of the people of Israel. There were four kings that came after him in the land of Judah, but they were life-time unbelievers and refused to listen to God’s Word, dragging the Israelite people down with them. Josiah was the last God-fearing ruler the nation had. In fact, just five years after Josiah passed away, God send the Babylonian army to take some of the Israelites into exile for the first time. The reign of Josiah was really the final spiritual bright spot before everything went down hill. The book of the Law that had been lost for generations was discovered in the temple during the reign of Josiah. The Israelites repented of their sins and trusted in God’s promises once again during the reign of Josiah. And during this time of spiritual renewal is when the prophet Zephaniah served the people as well.
You may not know a whole lot about Zephaniah other than there’s a short book of the Bible with that name, but it’s no matter. The important thing to remember about Zephaniah is this: he was God’s prophet during the time of King Josiah, and during those days Zephaniah spoke to the people about two things that they could expect in the future: their punishment of exile as well as their salvation in the Lord. We have in front of us today a section near the end of his book. And here, after he speaks to them about the punishment they would receive, he concludes God’s word to the people like this: “16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem, ‘Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. 17 The LORD your God is with you, he is a mighty warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.’" “It’s going to be OK,” is really what Zephaniah is saying here. Yes, they would face some terrible things in the near future: pain and death and exile - and they were going to deserve it! But the Lord is a mighty warrior who saves and he would quiet them with his love. It was going to be OK. These were words that the prophet Zephaniah wanted the people to take with them in the days ahead. And these are words that he wants us to remember in the days that are to come in our lives. Because just like the Israelites were about to face some difficulties in the coming years: there will be some tough times for us in the near future too.
Because if there’s anything you can be sure of in this life, it’s that you will suffer pain and you will have to deal with some difficult problems and you will have to stare death in the face: your own death and the death of others around you. You know from experience that this life is not always all that fun. This life is not especially pleasant at times. This life is not smooth sailing on a calm lake; it’s a rough and tumultuous fight for survival in a deep and stormy sea. You will be confronted with tragedies and atrocities in this life. And you know what? You’ll deserve every bit of it! Any misfortune that you have to suffer in this world will be well-deserved! You will have no right to complain about it or to cry out, “Why me?” You won’t be allowed to say, “It’s not fair!” Because you will be far more guilty than anything you will ever have to suffer. The unpleasantries that you will suffer in the years ahead will not even come close to what your sins deserve.
Now let me be clear: I am not saying that every bad thing you have to go through in this life is a direct result of a specific sin you have committed. That is not the case at all. Sometimes bad things happen to Christians simply because we live in a sinful world. But this is also true: We have broken every one of God’s commandments a thousand times over. We have ignored his words, we have doubted his promises, we have loved ourselves more than we have loved God on far too many occasions. We don’t deserve a breath of fresh air. We don’t deserve to have the sun to shine on our faces. We don’t deserve to have the Lord waste a thought on us, let alone guide us and guard us and protect us and lead us every day of our entire lives. And so when we actually do undergo serious pain or unbearable calamities in this life that bring us to our knees, know that these things are nothing compared to what we have earned for ourselves. We deserve those every one of those terrible things and much more - whether they are a direct result of our own personal sins or not!
Zephaniah told the Israelites that they were going to deserve future punishment as well. In fact, Zephaniah spends the entire first chapter of his book explaining this judgment on the people of Judah. He then uses the entire second chapter describing the punishment that the Lord would bring on every other nation when he comes in all his glory. But the third chapter is different. In the third chapter, in the final chapter of his book, Zephaniah’s words are full of hope and joy and salvation. He tells his hearers that although they were going to experience some difficult times in the years ahead, everything was going to be OK. The Lord as their Mighty Warrior would deliver them, and he would quiet them with his love.
It would take 70 years for that to happen, however. These Israelites were in Babylon, the land of their exile, for 70 years. And during that time I’m sure there was a lot of complaining and a lot of groaning and a lot of grumbling and a lot of questioning and a lot of frustration. But the Lord finally did quiet them with his love. As their Mighty Warrior he brought them back to the Promised Land, he moved the heart of the king of Persia to supply them with money from the royal treasury, and he allowed his people to rebuild and restore the city of Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord. Their worries and complaining and grumbling and fears were quieted with his love.
Of course, that was not the end of their troubles. Many things happened to the Jewish nation over the following centuries that caused them to question the Lord’s power and to cry out in despair again. And so the Lord quieted them with his love again. Not by bringing them back to the land of Israel this time, but by personally coming to the land of Israel himself. He quieted them with his love not by allowing them to again rebuild the temple of God, but by allowing them to actually see God in human flesh with their own eyes. The worries of all Old Testament believers were quieted in one night by the labor screams of Mary in a Bethlehem barn. The doubts of all Old Testament believers were quieted in one night by the heaven-shaking angelic songs of praise to the shepherds in those fields nearby that little town. The fears of all Old Testament believers were quieted in one night by the shouts of joy from those same shepherds as they told everyone they saw about that incredible miracle of salvation. The pain of God’s people was over that night. The punishment that was set for sinners was canceled. And every contradictory word that had ever been spoken about Christ’s power and his promises was quieted that evening because the Mighty Warrior had come, he had came as a baby, and he had come with the full extent of his love.
We will celebrate the coming of that Mighty Warrior in just a week and a half. We will sing those familiar Christmas songs. We will hear those familiar Christmas stories. And we will be reminded once again just as those believers were back then, that everything is going to be OK. Christ has come for us in love; and in love he will come again. And so in the coming days and weeks if you ever find yourself complaining about anything, just be quiet for a second and take a look at the Lord’s love for you that he demonstrated in the manger of Bethlehem. Is there really anything to complain about? In the coming months if you ever find yourself worrying about something, just be quiet for a second and take a look at the Lord’s love for you while he lived on this earth: suffering every temptation and pain imaginable on your behalf. Is there really anything to worry about? In the coming years if you ever find yourself afraid of what the future will bring for you and your family, just be quiet for a second, settle down, and take a good long hard look at the Lord’s love for you on the cross and out of the tomb and into heaven and on his throne. Is there really anything to be afraid of? The Lord will quiet your complaining and worries and fears, and he will quiet them with his love. He will calm you. He will comfort you. And he will remind you in his Word that anything you have to go through in this life he has already gone through for you himself - and so it’s is going to be OK.
In the coming days and months and years you will have to struggle with many things. And when you find yourself struggling with a severe pain, remember: so has Christ. He struggled with pain far beyond anything we could imagine. And in his love he promises that your pain will soon be over when you reach your home in heaven. When you find yourself struggling with a specific sin, remember: so has Christ. He has been tempted with that same sin too. He has even suffered the punishment for that sin. And in his love he promises that all of your sins are forgiven long before you ever commit them. When you find yourself struggling with a death of someone close to your heart, remember: so has Christ. He lost those he cared for and, in fact, he has suffered death himself. He knows what it’s like. He knows how awful death is. But in his love he also rose from the dead and he promises that everyone who believes in him will rise from the dead as well. When those times come in your life in which you find yourself struggling with your health or with your mind or with your job or with your family or with your faith, know this: it’s going to be OK. In fact, it’s going to be great! The Lord will use whatever unpleasant thing that is happening to you at the moment to strengthen your faith and secure your salvation. He will come through for you when you need him the most. “He will take great delight in you,” Zephaniah says. “He will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” He is your Father after all and you are his children. He will never let anything happen to you that isn’t for your good.
And so it’s going to be OK. I don’t know how. I don’t know when. I don’t know where. But I do know why. It’s going to be OK because the Lord will quiet you with his love. He will rescue you with hands that once had nails driven through them. He will hold you by his side that was once pierced with a spear. He will let you rest your head on his shoulders that had at one time carried your sins to the cross. The Lord will make sure that you are taken care of. He will soothe your worries with his Word. He will give you peace through his promises. He will quiet you with his love. It’s going to be OK. It’s going to be OK.
Amen.
“The peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:7
Monday, December 07, 2009
12/6/09 - Advent 2 - Philippians 1:3-11
AFFECTED BY CHRIST'S AFFECTION
- It is contagious
- It is one-of-a-kind
I include all of you in my prayers a lot. I do. And I don’t pray for you on a regular basis because there’s a problem or because I’m concerned about what is happening or where we as a congregation are headed. I pray with joy in my heart when it comes to you; I thank the Lord in my prayers because of the fellowship we share in the gospel of our Lord. We have a special bond, an unbelievably strong connection based on our mutual faith in our Savior. And I’m confident that just as our Lord has created in you a heart that loves him and a life that lives for him, he will continue to strengthen you and build you up until the Last Day.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that I pray for you a lot. I’m your pastor after all! I’ve been appointed to be a shepherd of your souls. We don’t have an employer/employee relationship. We don’t have a parent/child relationship. We don’t even have a friend/friend relationship. It’s more than that. I have a vested interest in and am held partly responsible for what you believe and what you do and where you will end up. And I know that you have that same interest in my spiritual well-being. And so on those days when my job of spreading the gospel isn’t all that easy as well as on those days when spreading the gospel seems to be working out just the way I planned, it is a comfort to know that you believe in the same gospel with me and together we are recipients of God’s grace. You are my spiritual support group. And God himself knows how much I care for you. He knows how often you are included in my prayers.
And this is my prayer: that your faith will be strengthened by the words of God that I speak, that your love for others will continue to increase, and that you will be able to recognize every false teaching and fend off every temptation that this world throws at you so that you will remain steadfast in God’s promises and will be seen as innocent and holy in his sight on Judgment Day because of the forgiveness earned for you by your Savior. I long to see you in heaven one day. I look forward to that.
And I feel that way about you because I’ve been affected by Christ’s affection. Christ has shown me an infinite amount of love and so I can’t help but show love to you! It is natural for a child of God the Father to want to show love for his brothers and sisters who belong to that same family. It was natural for the apostle Paul to feel this way too. Because he was also affected by Christ’s affection. And in his letter to the congregation in Philippi, he says some of the same things to those Christians that I have just said to you. “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”
Paul obviously had a heart that was filled with affection for the Philippians. And his affection for the Philippians was modeled after Christ’s affection for all people. And my affection for you is modeled after both Paul’s and Christ’s. It’s an affection that not only feels, but acts. It’s an affection that is not only in the heart, but is also in the mind. It is an affection that is based on unselfishness and self-sacrifice. And it’s contagious. When we hear about Christ’s affection for us in the Word, we catch it. When we read about it in our Bibles, we catch it. When we experience it in the Lord’s Supper, we catch it. When we witness other Christians displaying Christ’s affection to those around us, we catch it.
But it’s also something I don’t do well. Yes, I have a special place in my heart for this congregation and each of you as individual Christians, but the love I have for you is not always that constant. It’s up and down. It’s fickle. It’s unreliable. Because whether you want to believe it or not: I’m plenty selfish! And sometimes I care more about my wants and my feelings and my life than I care about yours. I’m not proud of it, but it’s true! My care and concern for each one of you does not always take precedence over the care and concern I show for myself. I’ve certainly been affected by Christ’s affection but I am also still infected with sin. Sometimes my sinful selfishness gets the best of me no matter how hard I strive to show Christ’s love. And I would guess it gets the best of you on occasion as well.
You love your children and your spouse and your parents and your friends and your congregation because you’ve been affected by Christ’s affection just like I have. But you also know all too well that the love you show for those people in your life is sporadic at best. There are days you do pretty well but then there are those days in which you don’t care about anyone but yourself. There are those days when you are selfish to the core and you don’t care! In fact you like it! There are times when we know we are being selfish but we have no intentions of stopping anytime soon. Because love is hard and selfishness is easy. Love is work and selfishness is all natural. The affection of Christ may be contagious, but the selfishness of the sinful human nature is hereditary - and so there will always be a constant battle between those two as long as we live in this life. Unfortunately, we don’t mind when sin wins every once in a while.
And in reality, sin wins more than every once in a while, doesn’t it? Selfishness has gained the victory over our love on many of the battlefields in our hearts over the years. But no matter how many times we have succumbed to selfishness and no matter how many times we have let sin gain the upper hand on the affection of Christ we have shown to others, Christ’s affection for us has never once wavered. Arguably, the greatest characteristic of Christ’s affection is that although it affects us, we can never affect it. We can never change Christ’s affection for us or diminish Christ’s affection or dampen Christ’s affection. Because Christ’s affection is one-of-a-kind. There’s nothing quite like it. Because every other love changes. Every other love is influenced by something. Every other love has limits. Christ’s love for us does not.
A father on this earth may love his children so much that he humbles himself for his them and get down on his hands and knees and play games with his children that a grown man wouldn’t normally play. But a father’s humility for the sake of his children is nothing compared to the humility Jesus displayed for the sake of those who belonged to him. He went from throne to barn, from glory to poverty, from an eternity of perfection to a world of sin. God stopped showing himself to the universe as God for a time - so deep was the affection Christ had for you.
A good friend may do his or her best to back you up and make every effort to never let you down. They may be dependable and trustworthy and always willing to go the extra mile whenever you need help. But a friend’s dedication to you is nothing compared to the dedication of the Lord. Jesus woke up every morning on this earth knowing that the devil would attack him again, knowing that his enemies would try to trick him again, knowing that his own disciples would doubt him again. Jesus took shots from every angle for his entire life from both earthly adversaries and supernatural ones, and he survived. And not only did he survive, he did it perfectly. He never faltered. He never gave in. He never gave up - so great was the affection Christ had for you.
A mother may very well sacrifice a lot of things for her children. She will sacrifice her time when they are sick, sacrifice her money when they are in need, sacrifice her job to spend just a few more days with them, sacrifice her sleep to make sure they are provided for, sacrifice everything she has to make them happy. But a mother’s sacrifice is nothing compared to the sacrifice Christ made on your behalf. He sacrificed his reputation so that you could be called by the name of God himself. He sacrificed every earthly pleasure so that you could enjoy every heavenly treasure. He sacrificed his body so that yours would be spared. He sacrificed his relationship with his Father for a few horrendous moments on the cross so that your relationship with his Father would forever be secured. Jesus sacrificed his life for you before you ever knew who he was - so passionate was Christ’s affection for you.
A brother or a sister may very well stand up for you when others will not. Your spouse or your parents or your children may look after you and take care of you and be there for you when no one else would bother. But the care and concern of your family is nothing compared to the care and concern that Christ shows to you. He defends you from every evil. He guards you from all temptations. He constantly watches over you so that no spiritual harm will befall you. In fact, he never sleeps. He doesn’t want to sleep because he wants you to be safe. He wants you to be blessed. And so he has made it his goal to take care of you for as long as you live in this world. He’s more than just “on call” 24 hours a day 7 days a week; he’s already there 24/7. He’s holding you by your hand and leading you every step of the way - so complete is Christ’s affection for you.
Christ’s affection is one-of-a-kind. It is all-encompassing, playing an integral part in every aspect of your life. Christ’s affection is completely self-sacrificing, leaving nothing undone. Christ’s affection will never leave you even if you leave him. That’s a love you can count on. That’s affection that affects us.
If Christ cares for us that much and then he asks us to show that same kind of care for others, how could we not? How could we look our Savior in the face and tell him that we don’t want to do that today? That it’s not worth it? That everything he did for us wasn’t really enough to motivate us to want to do the same? It’s unthinkable that we would say anything like that to our Lord because any Christian who has come into contact with the affection of Christ will be affected to act like him and care like him and love like him. No Christian will be able to perfectly emulate Christ’s love, but every Christian will be moved by Christ’s love. Christ’s affection is that powerful. Christ’s affection is that effective.
It affected John the Baptist. Today is John the Baptist Day - the 2nd Sunday in the season of Advent when we look back at what John did to prepare the way for the Savior. John the Baptist was affected by the affection of Christ. That’s why he dedicated his life to preaching and baptizing all that would listen. That’s why he lived out in the desert, unconcerned about the niceties this world had to offer. That’s why he was beheaded by King Herod. Because he longed for the people with the affection of Christ. He wanted them to repent. He wanted them to believe. He wanted them to be saved. And he was willing to say whatever words of God that needed to be said in order to make it happen.
This same love for sinful souls was alive in the apostle Paul as well. “God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus” he wrote. This is the same affection I have for you. And it’s the same affection I pray you have for me and for all people. The affection we show towards each other may never be the ideal kind of love and it may never be as constant as we’d like it to be, but Christ’s is. Christ’s affection for us will always be as strong as it always has been. And I pray that Christ’s affection will always continue to have a profound affect on us.
Amen.
“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father - to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.” - Rev. 1:5-6
- It is contagious
- It is one-of-a-kind
I include all of you in my prayers a lot. I do. And I don’t pray for you on a regular basis because there’s a problem or because I’m concerned about what is happening or where we as a congregation are headed. I pray with joy in my heart when it comes to you; I thank the Lord in my prayers because of the fellowship we share in the gospel of our Lord. We have a special bond, an unbelievably strong connection based on our mutual faith in our Savior. And I’m confident that just as our Lord has created in you a heart that loves him and a life that lives for him, he will continue to strengthen you and build you up until the Last Day.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that I pray for you a lot. I’m your pastor after all! I’ve been appointed to be a shepherd of your souls. We don’t have an employer/employee relationship. We don’t have a parent/child relationship. We don’t even have a friend/friend relationship. It’s more than that. I have a vested interest in and am held partly responsible for what you believe and what you do and where you will end up. And I know that you have that same interest in my spiritual well-being. And so on those days when my job of spreading the gospel isn’t all that easy as well as on those days when spreading the gospel seems to be working out just the way I planned, it is a comfort to know that you believe in the same gospel with me and together we are recipients of God’s grace. You are my spiritual support group. And God himself knows how much I care for you. He knows how often you are included in my prayers.
And this is my prayer: that your faith will be strengthened by the words of God that I speak, that your love for others will continue to increase, and that you will be able to recognize every false teaching and fend off every temptation that this world throws at you so that you will remain steadfast in God’s promises and will be seen as innocent and holy in his sight on Judgment Day because of the forgiveness earned for you by your Savior. I long to see you in heaven one day. I look forward to that.
And I feel that way about you because I’ve been affected by Christ’s affection. Christ has shown me an infinite amount of love and so I can’t help but show love to you! It is natural for a child of God the Father to want to show love for his brothers and sisters who belong to that same family. It was natural for the apostle Paul to feel this way too. Because he was also affected by Christ’s affection. And in his letter to the congregation in Philippi, he says some of the same things to those Christians that I have just said to you. “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”
Paul obviously had a heart that was filled with affection for the Philippians. And his affection for the Philippians was modeled after Christ’s affection for all people. And my affection for you is modeled after both Paul’s and Christ’s. It’s an affection that not only feels, but acts. It’s an affection that is not only in the heart, but is also in the mind. It is an affection that is based on unselfishness and self-sacrifice. And it’s contagious. When we hear about Christ’s affection for us in the Word, we catch it. When we read about it in our Bibles, we catch it. When we experience it in the Lord’s Supper, we catch it. When we witness other Christians displaying Christ’s affection to those around us, we catch it.
But it’s also something I don’t do well. Yes, I have a special place in my heart for this congregation and each of you as individual Christians, but the love I have for you is not always that constant. It’s up and down. It’s fickle. It’s unreliable. Because whether you want to believe it or not: I’m plenty selfish! And sometimes I care more about my wants and my feelings and my life than I care about yours. I’m not proud of it, but it’s true! My care and concern for each one of you does not always take precedence over the care and concern I show for myself. I’ve certainly been affected by Christ’s affection but I am also still infected with sin. Sometimes my sinful selfishness gets the best of me no matter how hard I strive to show Christ’s love. And I would guess it gets the best of you on occasion as well.
You love your children and your spouse and your parents and your friends and your congregation because you’ve been affected by Christ’s affection just like I have. But you also know all too well that the love you show for those people in your life is sporadic at best. There are days you do pretty well but then there are those days in which you don’t care about anyone but yourself. There are those days when you are selfish to the core and you don’t care! In fact you like it! There are times when we know we are being selfish but we have no intentions of stopping anytime soon. Because love is hard and selfishness is easy. Love is work and selfishness is all natural. The affection of Christ may be contagious, but the selfishness of the sinful human nature is hereditary - and so there will always be a constant battle between those two as long as we live in this life. Unfortunately, we don’t mind when sin wins every once in a while.
And in reality, sin wins more than every once in a while, doesn’t it? Selfishness has gained the victory over our love on many of the battlefields in our hearts over the years. But no matter how many times we have succumbed to selfishness and no matter how many times we have let sin gain the upper hand on the affection of Christ we have shown to others, Christ’s affection for us has never once wavered. Arguably, the greatest characteristic of Christ’s affection is that although it affects us, we can never affect it. We can never change Christ’s affection for us or diminish Christ’s affection or dampen Christ’s affection. Because Christ’s affection is one-of-a-kind. There’s nothing quite like it. Because every other love changes. Every other love is influenced by something. Every other love has limits. Christ’s love for us does not.
A father on this earth may love his children so much that he humbles himself for his them and get down on his hands and knees and play games with his children that a grown man wouldn’t normally play. But a father’s humility for the sake of his children is nothing compared to the humility Jesus displayed for the sake of those who belonged to him. He went from throne to barn, from glory to poverty, from an eternity of perfection to a world of sin. God stopped showing himself to the universe as God for a time - so deep was the affection Christ had for you.
A good friend may do his or her best to back you up and make every effort to never let you down. They may be dependable and trustworthy and always willing to go the extra mile whenever you need help. But a friend’s dedication to you is nothing compared to the dedication of the Lord. Jesus woke up every morning on this earth knowing that the devil would attack him again, knowing that his enemies would try to trick him again, knowing that his own disciples would doubt him again. Jesus took shots from every angle for his entire life from both earthly adversaries and supernatural ones, and he survived. And not only did he survive, he did it perfectly. He never faltered. He never gave in. He never gave up - so great was the affection Christ had for you.
A mother may very well sacrifice a lot of things for her children. She will sacrifice her time when they are sick, sacrifice her money when they are in need, sacrifice her job to spend just a few more days with them, sacrifice her sleep to make sure they are provided for, sacrifice everything she has to make them happy. But a mother’s sacrifice is nothing compared to the sacrifice Christ made on your behalf. He sacrificed his reputation so that you could be called by the name of God himself. He sacrificed every earthly pleasure so that you could enjoy every heavenly treasure. He sacrificed his body so that yours would be spared. He sacrificed his relationship with his Father for a few horrendous moments on the cross so that your relationship with his Father would forever be secured. Jesus sacrificed his life for you before you ever knew who he was - so passionate was Christ’s affection for you.
A brother or a sister may very well stand up for you when others will not. Your spouse or your parents or your children may look after you and take care of you and be there for you when no one else would bother. But the care and concern of your family is nothing compared to the care and concern that Christ shows to you. He defends you from every evil. He guards you from all temptations. He constantly watches over you so that no spiritual harm will befall you. In fact, he never sleeps. He doesn’t want to sleep because he wants you to be safe. He wants you to be blessed. And so he has made it his goal to take care of you for as long as you live in this world. He’s more than just “on call” 24 hours a day 7 days a week; he’s already there 24/7. He’s holding you by your hand and leading you every step of the way - so complete is Christ’s affection for you.
Christ’s affection is one-of-a-kind. It is all-encompassing, playing an integral part in every aspect of your life. Christ’s affection is completely self-sacrificing, leaving nothing undone. Christ’s affection will never leave you even if you leave him. That’s a love you can count on. That’s affection that affects us.
If Christ cares for us that much and then he asks us to show that same kind of care for others, how could we not? How could we look our Savior in the face and tell him that we don’t want to do that today? That it’s not worth it? That everything he did for us wasn’t really enough to motivate us to want to do the same? It’s unthinkable that we would say anything like that to our Lord because any Christian who has come into contact with the affection of Christ will be affected to act like him and care like him and love like him. No Christian will be able to perfectly emulate Christ’s love, but every Christian will be moved by Christ’s love. Christ’s affection is that powerful. Christ’s affection is that effective.
It affected John the Baptist. Today is John the Baptist Day - the 2nd Sunday in the season of Advent when we look back at what John did to prepare the way for the Savior. John the Baptist was affected by the affection of Christ. That’s why he dedicated his life to preaching and baptizing all that would listen. That’s why he lived out in the desert, unconcerned about the niceties this world had to offer. That’s why he was beheaded by King Herod. Because he longed for the people with the affection of Christ. He wanted them to repent. He wanted them to believe. He wanted them to be saved. And he was willing to say whatever words of God that needed to be said in order to make it happen.
This same love for sinful souls was alive in the apostle Paul as well. “God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus” he wrote. This is the same affection I have for you. And it’s the same affection I pray you have for me and for all people. The affection we show towards each other may never be the ideal kind of love and it may never be as constant as we’d like it to be, but Christ’s is. Christ’s affection for us will always be as strong as it always has been. And I pray that Christ’s affection will always continue to have a profound affect on us.
Amen.
“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father - to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.” - Rev. 1:5-6
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