For those not familiar with an Anglican Service there were three readings assigned for this day: Malachi 3:1-4; Philippians 1:3-11 and Luke 3:1-6
Having overnight guests.... Requires much preparation: ....clean, .....dust ...... vacuum....new sheets on the beds,.....fresh towels in the bathroom.... shopping for food, .....preparing the food, ....the list goes on ....and on....and on.
And my wife Lee will tell you .... her list.... is far longer .....than mine. Did I just hear an Amen.
Beloved ....Advent also ....is a time.... for preparation..... for being .....prepared.
We will see our Lord ....either through His second Advent.... or by leaving this side of eternity...through death.
Are you prepared ... are you prepared .....to meet the Messiah?
John the Baptizer ...was sent ...to prepare the way of the Lord..... to prepare the people ....for the coming ....of the Messiah.
He called the people ......to repent.
He called the people ....to prepare themselves .....to be prepared for ....the coming of the Messiah.
Yet.....How were they to prepare .....themselves?
John shares .....the way ....to prepare .....for the coming of the Messiah.
First (1 Finger) We are called to confess our sin to God.
Hear again .... our Gospel text this day: BIBLE "He (John)... went into all the region around the Jordan, ....proclaiming a baptism of.....repentance .....for ....the forgiveness of sins...." END Luke 3:3
Beloved ....confessing ...admitting that we are a sinner ....is at the heart ....of repentance.
We are called.... to repent....we are called .....to confess our sins. (Pause)
Four pastors met .....for a friendly gathering.
During the conversation .....one pastor said:
"Our people come to us... and pour out their hearts, .......and confess their sins..... and their needs.
"Confession ....is good for the soul..... Let us do the same .....with each other. "
One confessed .....he had a gambling problem ....and would sneak off to a casino ....when he was out of town.
The second confessed ....his struggle... with lust.
The third one confessed ........to materialism.
When it came to the fourth Pastor,.... he remained silent.
The others pressed him:... Finally he answered, "It is gossiping .........and I can't wait ....to get out of here....to tell someone" (Long Pause)
Beloved.....From time to time, ....we need to be reminded ....of our sinfulness.
We try to live good, and honest lives......yet we all are sinners.... All have sinned ....and fall short of .....the glory of God. Romans 3:23
Sin is a lot like.... the kudzu vine....a vine that is destroying many of the forests .....in the south.
You cannot destroy it .....by cutting back the growth....you must dig it up......and destroy ....the root.
As long as any part of the root of the kudzu ....remains in the ground, .......it can sprout.... new growth.
Beloved ....you can remove acts of sin from your life.
But nothing eternally will change ....until you address ......the root of sin ....in your life. (Pause)
Susanna Wesley ....told her young son, John,..... Whenever you judge the lawfulness.... or the unlawfulness ....of pleasure, ...then use this simple rule:
"Whatever weakens your reason, .....impairs the tenderness ...of your conscience, .....obscures your sense of God, .....and takes off the relish of spiritual things.........that to you .......is sin."
That is sound advice.
We would do well ....to heed Susanna Wesley's counsel.
Hear again her words:
"Whatever weakens your reason, .....impairs the tenderness ...of your conscience, .....obscures your sense of God, .....and takes off the relish of spiritual things.....that to you .......is sin." (Pause)
John the Baptizer .....was preaching ......that the people ......must repent .....of their sin.
And repentance can only begin .....when we are willing ....to confess our sin..... to confess ....that we are .....a sinner.
We all have ....a nature of sin .....that must be brought .....before God.
For only God.... can address ...the root....of sin.
Repentance .....begins with confession .....which in turn .....leads to a ....."turning away" ... a life that moves ......away .....from sin.
When John the Baptizer ....addressed the Pharisees.....he condemned them .....for being hypocrites.
Jesus had strong words concerning the Pharisees, .....and what awaits them:
BIBLE " "But woe to you,..... scribes and Pharisees,.... hypocrites! ....For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces..... For you neither enter yourselves ....nor allow those who would enter... to go in" END (Matthew 23:13 ESV).
They believed they were better than others.... that they were Holier.... then others.... because of the rules and the laws..... that they kept.
They were guilty ....of spiritual pride.....and their false spiritual discipline ..... meant nothing.. to God.
Sin can be very subtle....it can ....and it will sneak up on you .....if you let it. (Pause)
This children's fable ....may help illustrate ......sin's subtle nature:
One cold night,..... as an Arab sat in his tent, ....his camel ....named ....."Sin" ....gently thrust his nose under the flap ...and looked in.
"Master,".... he said,.... "let me put my nose in your tent.......It's cold and stormy..... out here."
"By all means,".... said the Arab, .....and He welcomed Sin in .....as he turned over .....and went to sleep.
A short while later ....the Arab awoke ....to find that the camel ....had not only put his nose in the tent ......but his head .....and his neck also.
Sin, ...who had been turning his head from side to side, said,..... "I will take but little more room if I place my forelegs ....within the tent."
"Yes, ....you may put your forelegs within," said the Arab, ....moving over a little ....to make room, ......for the tent .....was quite small.
Finally, Sin said, "May I not stand ....wholly inside?
I am keeping the tent open to the night air .....standing as I do."
"Yes, yes,"... said the Arab..... "Come wholly inside. ....Perhaps it will be better ...for both of us."
So Sin.... crowded into the tent.
The Arab with difficulty in the crowded quarters ....again.... went to sleep.
When he woke up again... latter that night, ....he found himself outside in the cold ....and Sin ....had the whole tent.....all to himself.
We are called to be a Holy nation.... A new creation.
We must not allow Sin to enter in....and take hold .....of our life.
Beloved.... The Scriptures share this glorious promise:
BIBLE "If we confess our sins,.... he is faithful and just.... to forgive us our sins... and to cleanse us .....from all unrighteousness." END 1 John 1:9
1 Finger) We are called to confess our sin... and when we do (2 Fingers).....We receive forgiveness .....from God.
Yet do we truly accept .....that forgiveness?
The psychiatrist, .....Dr. Karl Menninger, ....once said:
" ..... if he could convince the patients.... in psychiatric hospitals ....that their sins were forgiven,.... 75 percent of them ....could walk out..... the next day!"
We have a deep need within.....to know .....that we are forgiven.
In his book, ..... "A Forgiving God in an Unforgiving World", ....the author Ron Lee Davis ....retells the true story ....of a priest in the Philippines.
A much loved man of God, .....who carried the burden of a secret sin he had committed .....many years before.
He had repented ...but still had no peace,.... no sense .....of God's forgiveness.
In his parish ...was a woman who deeply loved God ....and who claimed to have visions ....in which she spoke ...with Christ ......and he ....with her.
The priest, however,..... was skeptical.
To test her.... he said, ....."The next time you speak with Christ, ....I want you to ask him ....what sin ...your priest committed ....while he was in seminary."
The woman agreed.
A few days later ....the priest asked,.... "Well, did Christ visit you ....in your dreams?"
"Yes, he did," ....she replied.
"And did you ask him what sin I committed in seminary?" ......"Yes."
"Well, what did he say?"
"He said,..... 'I don't remember'"
The Scriptures are clear ....and give us great comfort: BIBLE ".....as far as the east is from the west, ....so far ...does he remove our transgressions..... from us." END Psalm 103:12
The Scriptures go on to say....BIBLE "I, ....I am he.... who blots out your transgressions .....for my own sake, .....and I will remember your sins .....no more." END Isaiah 43:25
What God forgives Beloved,..... He forgets.
The problem with forgiveness ....is that while God may forget our sin, ....we often .....do not.
We allow the thought of that sin.... to haunt us .....and to bring false guilt .....upon us. (Pause)
In a dream, .....Martin Luther.... found himself being .....attacked by Satan.
The devil unrolled ....a long scroll .....containing a list of Luther's sins, .....and held it..... before him.
On reaching the end of the scroll..... Luther asked the devil,...... "Is that all?"
"No," ....came the reply, .....and a second scroll .....was thrust .....in front of him.
Then, .....after the second .....came a third.
But now ....the devil .....had no more.
"You've forgotten some thing," Luther exclaimed triumphantly.
"Quickly ....write on each of them, ....'The blood of Jesus Christ God's Son ...cleanses us... from all sins.'" (Pause)
When you accept Jesus as your Savior .....as your redeemer, .....All sins .....are forgiven.
Is Jesus your Savior ..... your Redeemer?.... Is Jesus your Lord?
Have you been washed ...in the blood ....of the Lamb?
We will see the Messiah ....our Lord ....either through his second Advent.... or by leaving this side of eternity....through death.
All....All will stand .....before the Judgment .....of the Messiah.
Being a Follower of the Christ .....begins first ....with a relationship with Jesus .....out of which .....We.... as followers of the Christ..... are called.... to love.
To Love ....our neighbor as our self..... to Love those ... that God places .....in our lives.
And we portray that love .....when we do practical things ... when we do the small things .....to show the main thing.... God's love.
(Slow) A love.....that points the way to the Messiah......to Jesus. (Pause)
A mother shared a story.... about a Christmas play ....that speaks to a life in Christ.
She said: ......My young daughter, Jana, ....was so excited ....about her part in the Church play....that I was sure ..... she was one of the main characters.
But she would never tell me.....what part she was playing....she wanted it ....to be a surprise.
The night of the performance.....all the parents and grandparents ....were .....in the audience.
Then .....one by one ...the children took their places.... for the opening scene.
I could see the shepherds..... fidgeting in one corner..... as Mary and Joseph ....stood solemnly .....behind the manger.
In the back .....three young wise men .....waited impatiently.
Jana ...was calmly sitting on a chair .....off-stage.... to the side.
Then the teacher began: ....."A long time ago, ....Mary and Joseph had a baby .....and they named Him Jesus.
"And when Jesus was born, .....a bright star .....appeared over .....the stable."
With that cue, ....Jana got up from her chair, ....picked up a large tin-foil star, ....walked behind Mary and Joseph ....and held the star up high ....for everyone ....to see.
When the teacher told about the shepherds coming to see the baby ....the three young shepherds..... came forward ....and Jana jiggled the star up and down excitedly .....to show them ....where to come.
When the wise men responded to their cue, .....Jana took a few steps forward .......to meet them .....and to.... lead the way.
Her face....was alight .....as the real star ....might have been..... that night.
The play ended. .....We had refreshments.
And on the way home.... Jana said, .....with great satisfaction.... "I had .....the main part!"
"You did?"..... I questioned,.... wondering why she thought that.
"Yes," she said, ...."'cause I showed everybody..... how to find Jesus!".... (Long Pause)
Cause I showed everybody..... how to find Jesus.
Beloved....Wouldn't that be a wonderful way ....to be remembered.
That was the mission..... of John the Baptist,.... and Beloved....that is our mission .....as well.
Rather than fearing.... what is to come, .....we are to be faithful .......preparing .....to see him.
Instead of fearing the dark,..... we are to be light to the world.........a holy nation.
We are in the season Advent.....the season of preparation.... The season .....of expectation.
We are an Advent people..... We are Holding the Star.
Beloved....We too ....each have..... a main part.
To show everybody.....how ....to find Jesus.
Amen and Amen!
Help: If this Message has been helpful to you please consider sending a nominal donation to Epiphany Anglican Fellowship 135 Kalassay Drive, Post Office Box 375, Ligonier, PA 15658 and (Write on the Memo line - Web Support). We are a small but growing parish in the Laurel Mountains of Pennsylvania. Blessings in Christ. Blessed To Be A Blessing.
I received much insight from a Sermon by Jeff Armbrester titled "Preparing the way" and I commend it to you.
Dear Reader: So I can better help you, if this Message was not helpful and you rated it low, Please let me know what it lacked or why it was not helpful. You can search by contributor Smead" (Constructive Criticism is very helpful) and contact me there. Blessings In Christ Jeff
