David Peterson, former pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Spokane, Washington, told about a time when he was preparing his sermon. His little daughter came in and said, "Daddy, can we play?"
He answered, "I'm awfully sorry, Sweetheart, but I'm right in the middle of preparing this sermon. In about an hour I can play."
She said, "Okay, when you're finished, Daddy, I am going to give you a great big hug."
He said, "Thank you very much." She went to the door and (these are his words) "Then she did a U-turn and came back and gave me a chiropractic, bone-breaking hug." David said to her, "Darling, you said you were going to give me a hug after I finished." She answered, "Daddy, I just wanted you to know what you have to look forward to!"
What a wonderful analogy! It’s a story I think we each would agree that the mere knowledge of what was expected to come, in this case the little girls big hug, was something her father absolutely did not dread to receive or even disregard as unimportant. As a matter of fact, the dad instructively expected to receive the reward from his daughter after his work was completed!
I know this is a very subtle and simple type of example, but it does beg the question this morning. As we worship God on this second Sunday of Advent, are we truly expecting God to keep His promises to those that love, serve and obey Him? And then, can we truly say that we are prepared to meet God as we await for His second coming? In titling the message today, Get ready to go with God, what I would like for you to try and comprehend is when it comes to your individual soul, are you ashamed or afraid of the good news that God brought us? If so, why? No matter how you look at it, we cannot get to Jesus without first hearing what preparations God made—preparing the way of the Lord. Each of us this morning we will one day meet God—face to face, as like the hymn tells us to canaans land I’m on my way where the soul of man never dies. It is this preparation I want to speak on today in with the preparations made by God to make a way for Him to us that started with John the Baptist. The prophet Malachi tells us “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and strike the land with complete destruction.” To save us, God had to prepare the way for us to not only hear the good news, the Gospels, but to show it to us! In this as well, all the Gospels show it! And while you hear John the Baptist and his ministry to the people, you cannot help but also hear from the prophecies of old where it was foretold that indeed, the messiah will come but God must prepare the way for Him. First is Malachi 3:1 Behold, “I am sending My messenger, and he will clear a way before Me. And the Lord, whom you are seeking, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of armies.” Isaiah 40:3, “The voice of one calling out, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
Notice you hear the words, clearing the way for the Lord! This is vitally important! You see, up until John the Baptist came on scene, the laws of God were all but forgotten and stained with manipulation and much elaborate twisting of its true purpose and design. The church leaders of the day absolutely allowed sin to reign and waiting on Gods promise of the messiah was brushed aside. God was quite literally silent for over 400 years to his people. Much had to take place in order for the prophecy ‘Clearing the way,” to commence. And John, well he was a unfavored prophet to the leaders of the day. Mainly because He spoke the truth that was very painful and shameful to those that lived an ungodly life. As a matter of fact, if John was known to us today, he would be one of the least welcomed person who did not accompany worldly values and did not perform known practices and customs that the world would deem fit. From not being seen as a clean cut, striking individual or not having good assets of money and not even having proper table manners, John would not be warmly welcomed in todays society for sure. Regardless however, no matter if John was unimportant to the people of Jesus day or even today, John’s presence and purpose was required and must be adhered to. In order to do that, there had to be a preparation of the people! Let the people hear the Gospel or good news of what Christ came to do! Did not the angel declare at Jesus birth to the shepherds say, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Does anyone know what the word Christ means? Anointed one!
What good news? Our redemption! Our sins forgiven forever, without need of bulls, lambs or goats—but by a permanent marker, the infant baby Jesus, who would grow to be a man and be nailed to a wooden cross for you and me! I sometimes really wonder if Mary knew about the final price that had to be paid for sin by way of her son!
From the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation, all of God’s promises pointed to one thing! Can you guess what that was? The saving of His people! You and me! It does not please God to see us suffer. It does not satisfy God for us to go through this life without His presence with us! But if His love was forced love, then there is no need for love! Love is a choice! A choice from God and a choice from us! Its called free will!
Getting ready to go with God is something of a serious business friends. For centuries, the messiah’s coming was a call from God to answer the response to sin, which is death. In order to be set free from death forever, a price had to be paid. But, like it has been told before, man’s heart is evil to the core. Man’s life is but a vapor, and our ways are not of God. This is where the problem lies at. Peoples hearts were not ready! The people’s minds were not pure! The people's lives were not God centered! In other words, the preparation for God’s redemption plan required people to not only accept God as their savior but allow God to work! Meaning, without a change, a genuine change in the people’s lives, you and me included, true redemption would not work! We have free will to choose God or choose the world! Malachi ends with God’s promise that He will send Elijah. The New Testament period begins with the appearance of John the Baptist who many would claim to have the spirit of Elijah as Jesus declared in Matthew chapter 11, “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.”
As A.W. Tozer once said, What we need very badly these days is a company of Christians who are prepared to trust God as completely now as they know that they must do at that last day. An Irish missionary, Amy Carmichael once said “Certain it is that the reason there is so much shallow living—much talk but little obedience—is that so few are prepared to be, like the pine on the hilltop, alone in the wind for God.”
Are we truly spending time with God, only when its convenient? Only when we think we should? Or, are we spending time with God because we desire Him, love Him, cherish Him, obey Him, worship Him? Why Christ came? To save us all from sin! Not to give an excuse to buy great gifts for our friends, family and neighbors. Not to max out our credit cards or get the latest gadgets or most up to date car! Christmas is about Christ coming us to and saving us from our eternal doom period! This doesn’t sound much like a hallmark Christmas story does it! It shouldn’t! The truth is the only thing that will save us, not good intentions. I would like to leave you with this friends. The word Gospel means good news! Do not miss the ‘news’ in good news! The Gospel is not enlightenment, or an indescribable mystery, a rule or regulations or even a secret knowledge and power. Just as the sun only shines, so is God who only loves! The gospel, good news, a great need for each of us. It’s a grand provision that Christ came to save us all. It’s a no exception invitation to all people that is no doubts but all assurances that He will save us if we call upon His mighty name.
We need to be ready to go with God when and where He calls us to be. Whether here on earth to calling us home to heaven, we all need to be prepared and meet God every single day. Let Christmas be a time to prepare ourselves as a living obedient servant of infant child, born to us which is Christ the lord. Amen