Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8
Theme: Second Advent - Year B
Title: The Path Faith Leads
In our passages the LORD reveals to us the path of faith - 1. Faith leads us to confession and repentance 2. Faith leads us to being Transformed 3. Faith leads us to Action - Living Out a Life of Faith Everyday
Confessing, Transforming, Active Faith
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God our Father and from King Jesus who came to take away the sins of the world!
In Mark chapter 10:46 - 52 we find this wonderful story involving Jesus and Blind Bartimaeus. It's the kind of story that we love when we think of faith. Blind Bartimaeus speaks out in faith. Jesus responds by telling him that his faith has made him whole. Bartimaeus now seeing begins to follow Jesus. Faith equals instant healing and victory.
In Luke 9:43 -56 we have the two stories of the woman with the issue of blood and the resuscitation of Jarius' daughter. Both are based on faith and both are immediately healed and restored. The woman with the issue of blood is healed and cleansed while Jarius' daughter is able to once again breathe and sit down for a meal to eat. Faith equals instant healing and victory.
In Matthew 8:5 - 13 we have the story of the young servant boy who is healed as a result of the Centurion's great faith in Jesus. In verse 13 we read where the servant was healed at the same time the Centurion was talking to Jesus. Faith equals instant healing and victory.
You get the gist. Faith leads to supernatural encounters. Faith leads to great supernatural miracles and anointings. Faith leads to lives being transformed. Faith leads to seeing all kinds of wonderful things happening around a person.
Those are the type of stories that get our spiritual blood pumping. Those are the stories that we love to share in Vacation Bible School, Teen Bible Class or Adult Small Group Bible Studies. We like to see faith in action and that action quickly rewarded. We like it when we hear about prayers of faith that led to instantaneous or at least almost instantaneous miracles, healings and restorations.
But what about stories and lives of those like Joseph, Abraham, Joshua and let's add one more - Noah?
The Bible tells us that for 13 years Joseph suffered the life of first a slave and then the life an inmate before he experienced a supernatural rescue from the LORD. For 13 long and difficult years he had to hold on to his faith that God was hearing his prayers and that deliverance was on the way.
The Bible tells us that Abraham was 75 years of age when by faith the LORD led him from Haran to go to the Promise Land. He was 75 years of age when the LORD revealed to him that he would one day be the father of a blessed people numbering in the thousands and millions. And yet, Abraham would not be able to hold that Promise Child in his hands for another 25 years. Twenty-five long years of waiting as he and Sarah grew older and older. Each year taking them away from the thought of ever having children. He had to hold on to his faith day after day waiting for God's Promises to come true.
The Bible tells us that for 40 years Joshua had to wait in faith as the People of God stumbled around the Desert because of their rebellion. And then it would take another 25+ years to finally get a little bit of a foothold in the Promise Land. So we see that for 65+ years Joshua prayed, waited, walked, suffered before he experienced a part of God's Promise. He faith had to sustain him for 65+ years.
For Noah it was even longer. From the moment the LORD spoke to him about the Ark to the moment he got on the ark some believe that 100 years had passed. That means some 36, 500+ days went by before he stepped foot on that ark and the rain started pouring down. 36,500 days keeping faith. He followed that up by spending another 370 days on the ark floating around in faith waiting for the Lord to dry up the earth. 101+ years is a long time to wait by faith for God's Promises to come true.
It's easy to get caught up in the stories of Blind Bartimaeus, the woman with the issue of blood and the Centurion's servant. They are neat and quick. They are inspirational. They fit our time line of being microwave miracles. We are not as easy to get caught up in the faith and miracle stories of Joseph, Joshua, Moses or Noah. We like to read about the exciting things that happened in their lives but when we begin to think in terms of 13 years, 25 years, 61 years or even 101 years then we find ourselves a little exhausted. That's a long time to wait for God's Promises to come true. That's a lot of day to day keeping faith.
Part of the problem is that we have lost touch with God's good creation. We have adapted to a world in which we constantly are changing, moving and transforming. On the average we change washers and dryers every 10 years, our cars every 8 years, our cell phones every three to four years, our computers every two to three years and our wardrobes every two to three years.
However, all over our planet the rest of creation goes by a different timeline. Antarctica sponges have been found that are over 1, 500 years old and still living. Ocean clams by the name of Quahong commonly live over 400 years. Greenland sharks match them at having a 400 year life span. Red Sea Urchins and Blowhead Whales last around 200 years and giant tortoises can live over 150 years.
But these pale in comparison to some of the trees that have lived and do live around our world. Methuselah, a bristlecone Pine tree growing in the White Mountains in eastern California is estimated to be over 5,000 years old and still growing. There is a yew tree in Northern Wales that is estimated to be a little over 4,000 years and growing. And until it's untimely death by a fire back in 2012 there was a cypress in Florida that was estimated to be around 3, 500 years old and doing quite well.
It's hard for us to get our heads around such long life spans. Sponges that began their lives around the time of the King Arthur legends. Clams and sharks that started swimming around the time of the Mayflower and whales that began life around the time James Monroe became President of the United States. Even harder to imagine is a little pine tree starting off way before the time of Abraham, Joseph or Moses.
We have problems today because since the Fall of Man and especially after the Flood the life span of humans has taken a nose dive. Before the Flood the Bible tells us that it was not unusual for humans to live 900+ years. Even after the Flood a few hundred years were normal. But since the time of Joseph, Moses and Joshua the upper number has been around 110 - 120 years with the average today being right around 75 -80 years. The problem has not been either God nor most of His Good Creation. It has been that the effects of sin has limited our ability to live out a good long life and understand the need for generational faith.
We moderns get in a hurry. We want to get started. We want to get the project done. We want to move on and start something new. We don't understand the timeline of faith and faith in multi-generational in nature.
In our Old Testament passage (Isaiah 40:1-11) this morning our writer is commissioned by the LORD to sound forth the message of Good News. This Good News comes from the mouth of the Good God of Israel, the God of Creation, the God of the Covenant and the One and Only True God. This God, the One who has rescued Israel is sending out a message of:
+Comfort +Restoration +Renewal +Presence
The LORD GOD JEHOVAH is sending out the message that He has forgiven His People. He wants them to know that He is going to build for them a new nation. He wants them to know that He is going to heal their land and that He is going to establish a place of peace and prosperity. He wants His people to be steadfast in their walk of righteousness and faith.
That is what we read about in Isaiah 40:1-11. We get the idea that the Exile is finally over and a grand and glorious return is to be expected.
What the prophet did not give was an exact time line of when all this was going to take place. No one knew at that time it would be another 400+ years before the proclaimed messenger would come and sound forth the message that the coming of the LORD was here in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. No one knew that it would be generations from the time that his prophecy was given that it would come to fulfillment.
Yes, the people did return to their homeland under the rule of King Cyrus of Persia. However, the people did not become prosperous and rich. No heir of King of David sat on the throne. In fact, the nation state of Israel was insignificant on the world stage at best for the next 400 years or so. Large numbers of Gentiles did not bring their wealth and lay it at the feet of the Israelites. While God's temple was rebuilt it was rather small, inadequate and most importantly the Shekinah glory of the LORD did not return.
Post-exilic prophets like Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi did their best to address these issues. They proclaimed that God was faithful and true. They proclaimed that God was on the move. They proclaimed that God was in control and that His glory would return and His People would be rewarded. The challenged the people to stay true to their faith and their walk of holiness. They challenged the people to keep faith.
By the time we get to our Gospel reading in Mark chapter one God's People have been waiting for over 400 years for the words of Isaiah 40:1-11 words to come to pass. God's People are for the most part back living in the Promise Land but they know in their hearts that exile is not over. Things are not as they should be. God's full forgiveness and restoration has not been completed.
It is into that arena that John the Baptist steps forth and sounds out His message. Like the message of the prophet Isaiah it too is a message of Good News. John's message is a message of faith and righteousness. It is a message that tells everyone who can hear that the long wait is finally over. It is a message that sounds forth the idea that what the Prophet Isaiah had predicted was finally here. It was a message that the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY was on the move in the here and now.
John's message is one that we love to hear this time of year. We want to see faith led to big things. We want to see faith come alive and bring for new life, new miracles and new anointings. We want this year to be different than all the years before it. We want this Advent Season to be filled with God's Manifold Presence. We want love, joy and peace to be more than mere vocal sounds shared in song. We want them to be a present reality in our lives and in the lives of people all over the world.
We know something is still not right. We know that there is still a missing piece. We know that our world is askew. But in the midst of all that we know that some things are right.
+We know that the Glory of the LORD did return in the Person of Jesus the Messiah/God in Flesh/the Son of God - who lived among us, died for us, was resurrected and ascended into Heaven.
+ We know that the New Temple is the Body of Christ - it is human beings infilled with God's Holy Spirit.
+We know that we are living in the New Age - the Age of Salvation, the Age of New Creation and the Age of the Holy Spirit
+ We know that in Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit our world can be rescued, redeemed and restored. The Devil, sin and evil have been defeated.
We know all of this but we still sense that there is a missing piece. Many think that what is missing is simply the Second Coming of Christ. That in this in between age between the Resurrection of Jesus to His Second Coming we are in a waiting mode. That very soon the Day of the LORD will appear, the Church will be taken up and finally all sin and evil will be judged and removed forever and ever. That what we have to do now is to merely wait.
But is that true? Is that all there is?
This morning, let's go back to Mark 1:1-10 and look at some key things that John tells us that our faith is to do in and through all of our lives.
I. The Path of Faith Leads us to CONFESSION/REPENTANCE
John the Baptist's message came as a shock to those who heard it. They expected to hear the message of God's Return, His vindication for His People and His Judgment against all the pagan nations. They expected to hear a message praising the people of God while at the same time condemning all the Gentile nations.
They did not expect to hear a message focusing on the need to confess one's sins and repent. They did not expect it because overall the hearts of God's People had grown lukewarm and cold over the last 400 years or so. They had came to believe that they were "righteous and holy" in the eyes of God merely because they were genetically the children of Abraham. They came to believe that they were secure with the LORD because they had suffered these last 400 years at the hands of the Greeks, the Syrians, the Romans and other Gentile peoples.
Back in Jerusalem those who had rebuilt the Temple and had been practicing the ancient rituals knew in their hearts something was wrong but they were too proud to admit it. They held on that as long as things were going well - attendance was up at the Temple, sacrifices were up and more money was coming in then all was well. High Holy Feast Days were going off without a cinch and things looked good at least on the surface. But there was no Shekinah Glory. There was no prophetic word from the LORD. The nation and its spiritual life was mere plodding along under the hands of greedy and self-serving priests and scribes.
John does his best to wake everyone up by reminding them that before the GLORY of the LORD will come the nation needs to confess and repent of its sins. It needs to turn around and begin going back towards the True God of Israel - the Good God of Creation and the God of Covenant. It needs to repent of its evil, its apathy and its attempt to mix some of the world alongside its message for the sake of political and financial security. It needs to return to being a holy people set aside for the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.
John's message is one that we need to hear today. We too are at a time when it appears that things on the surface are okay but we all sense that there is something wrong. Mega churches are popping up everywhere but at the same time the moral fiber of our nation is waxing and waning away. We have more published books about how to live as a disciple of Jesus and yet as a Body of Christ we are experiencing more division, more divorce and more distorted thinking than ever.
There is a growing spirit of putting up walls instead of building bridges. There is a growing spirit of casting out those who don't think like us, live like us or appreciate our values. There a growing spirit of being at war with our enemies and those of other faiths. There is a spirit of anger and malice towards those who do not agree with us or join in our causes.
This is not the way of Jesus nor is it the way of His disciples. Yes, Jesus does not want us to compromise or to believe that anyone else but He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. That is a given. That's solid. But instead of walls we must begin to build bridges of love. Instead of going to war with those who are Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Wiccan or whatever we need to go to war on our knees in prayer for them to see the Light and to receive Our Lord Jesus as their Savior and LORD. We need to quit worrying about being politically correct or incorrect and be people of prayer, the Word and Holiness.
We need to confess our sins and repent. We need to not look outward and find those who are our enemies but we need to bow our knees and come before our LORD with broken and contrite hearts. We need repent of the sins of immorality, greed, self-idolatry, apathy and lukewarmness. We need to come before Our Lord and confess our sins, the sins of our nation and ask the LORD for His mercy, grace and love. We need to fall on our faces and cry out to the LORD to forgive us and heal our land. We need to spend time in His presence and not waste time watching some unholy TV program or go to some movie that promotes the gods of mammon, sensuality and violence.
Unless we in the Church do this I am afraid that we will see our nation continually get weaker, more immoral and more divided. I am afraid if we don't repent in God's House then we will watch the spirits of anger, violence and war get stronger and stronger and become more entrenched in our world. If we don't confess our sins and the sins of our nation then what hope do we really possess? The path of faith leads us to confession/repentance which leads us to Transformation.
II. The Path of Faith leads us to TRANSFORMATION
Mark gives us the shorten version of John's message but as we read Matthew's longer account in Matthew 3:1-10 you get the sense that confession and repentance is to led a person to a life of transformation.
It wasn't about getting wet or repeating a few words that John or someone else spoke. Repentance for the Kingdom of Heaven included a lifelong adventure of physical, emotional, social and spiritual transformation.
John was convinced that something would happen to those who stepped into the water. He was convinced that those who later received the infilling presence of God's Holy Spirit would be transformed from the inside out and would experience some radical changes in their lives.
John knew that it was one thing to confess but it was another thing to turn around and turn back to God. John knew that a person needed more than a mere course correction. Humans needed what Jesus was going to provide and that was a New Life in and through the Power of God's Holy Spirit.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit one could bear the right kind of physical, emotional, social and spiritual fruit. One could live out a life of being an authentic human being reflecting the glory and honor of the LORD in their lives. Through the power of the Holy Spirit share, one could stop stealing, one could stop lying, one could stop being immoral, one could stop allowing anger to have control and one could begin living a new life in the Holy Spirit. One could be a witness of God's holiness and righteousness. One could live a life outlined by such passages as Colossians 3:12 - 15:
"These are the clothes you must put on, then, since God has chosen you, made you holy, and lavished his love upon you. You must be tender-hearted, kind, humble, meek, and ready to put up with anything. You must bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against someone else, you must do the same. On top of all this you must put on love, which ties everything together and makes it complete. Let the king's peace be the deciding factor in your hearts; that's what you were called to do, within one body. And be thankful." (KNT)
This is the one of the major things that we see lacking in our churches today. Lives being radically transformed by the LORD JESUS CHRIST and the infilling presence of His Holy Spirit. Lives that were headed away from the LORD but now are turned back to the LORD displaying a transformation of language, morality and actions. Lives that are visible witnesses of a radical change in the areas of finance, priorities and actions.
Jim Cymbala in his little book, STORM - Hearing Jesus for The Times We Live In reminds us that it is possible to love the LORD and yet not bear fruit. It is possible to love the LORD and yet show very little of what it means to be radically saved and sanctified. It is possible to love the LORD but do so at such a low level that it does not affect the way we think, the love we have for God and others and the life that we live.
This was the life of the young John Wesley. For years he knew something was wrong inside his heart and life. He even tried to come to America to work among the Indians thinking that through hard work and effort something would happen. It was only when Wesley understood that he needed to surrender himself over to the infilling presence of the Holy Spirit that things began to change in his life and around him. It was in the power of the Holy Spirit that he preached thousands of sermons and led thousands of people to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and LORD. It was in the power of the Holy Spirit that his brother Charles penned thousands of songs of which even today some 250+ years later we are still using to praise our LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.
This Advent Season gives us the perfect opportunity to do some spiritual introspection and ask ourselves some needed questions:
+Are we more like Jesus today than we were last Advent Season?
+Have we grown in the WORD, in PRAYER and In COMMUNION WITH GOD AND OTHERS?
+Are we a better witness for Jesus in our everyday living than we were last Advent Season?
This morning I don't need to inspect your fruit. But you do.
I don't need to have you come and confess your sins to me but we all need to go to the LORD to confess, to repent and to be transformed.
The People of Thessalonica were an excellent example to all those around the region of Macedonia of what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus. They were an example not merely because they confessed their need for Jesus, repented of their sins but because they had been transformed. People saw something new about them. People heard something new coming from their hearts, their minds and their souls. All of this lead us to our final thought concerning the Path of Advent Faith -
+It is a path of faith that leads to Confession/ Repentance
+It is a path of faith that leads to Transformation (physical, emotional, social and spiritual)
III. It is Path of Faith that leads to Everyday Action
Abraham conceived a son with Sarah.
Joseph get us, shaves his beard and stands before Pharaoh ready to interpret his dream.
Joshua picks up his sword and runs into the Promise Land ready to do battle with evil.
Noah begins to gather gopher wood and tar.
John the Baptist steps into the water and opens his mouth ready for the Lord to fill it.
Jesus walks towards the wilderness. Jesus begins to call the Disciples. Jesus begins to preach all around Galilee. Jesus begins to heal all those who come to Him.
Get the picture. Advent Faith - Real faith is confession/repentance and transformation. And real faith leads us along the Path of Action. Real Faith is Active and Alive.
A friend of mine recently preached a message about the life of the Spirit being a Life of Boots on the Ground. That is exactly what Advent Faith is - it is Boots on the Ground of Active Faith. It is faith that is born out of confession/repentance and transformation that then goes out and emotionally, physically and spiritually lives out that faith. It is Boots on the Ground Faith.
It is faith that gets messy and muddy. It is faith that bears burdens, wipes noses and picks up fallen brothers and sisters in the LORD. It is faith that sees the needs of others and reaches to help out in those areas of need. It is faith that in Christ find balance and the right priorities during this time of the year. It is faith that knows that Jesus is the Central Focal Point of Christmas not a collection of presents, parties and festivities. It is a faith that causes one to pray more, read God's Word more and be in His Presence more during Advent and Christmas Season not less. Advent Season is not a time to for us to be AWOL or too stressed to worship but a time to understand that we are to welcome the King of Kings not be out shopping, cooking food or watching sports.
Advent Faith - the path of Advent faith compels us to put our Faith into Action. It compels us to focus outwardly and not inwardly. It compels us to seek ways to be Jesus at work, in our schools, in our neighborhoods and in our families. It compels us to be witnesses for Jesus not merely with our mouths but with our hearts and with our actions. It compels us to have a balance of Evangelical Faith/Witness and Social Gospel/Compassionate Ministries.
It is faith not merely of accidental acts of kindness or random acts of kindness but purposeful acts of kindness. It is listening to the Holy Spirit and then responding to what the Spirit says and where He leads. It is allowing the LORD to take our boots and do whatever we need to do to uplift the name of Jesus and proclaim Jesus Savior and LORD. It is being purposeful in our actions during this Advent Season of who is our King.
Our writer in Isaiah leads us to a very comforting picture in 10 - 11. A picture that I believe this morning will both inspire us and challenge us. Our Lord is a Lord of Action. He reaches out to protect us and He reaches us to shepherd us. He gathers us together as His flock. He gently leads those of us that need healing, comfort and care. He reminds us that active faith is faith that not only can run into the Promise Land to do battle but a faith that holds one another through times of grief, loss and heartache.
This morning the Path of Faith is a wonderful path of adventure, challenge and restoration. It is a path that leads us to times of confession/repentance. It is a path that leads us to experience times of physical, emotional, social and spiritual transformation. And it is a path that leads us to Active Faith - Evangelical Witnessing to Social Gospel Compassionate Ministries.
It is at this time of the year if we are not careful we will become unbalanced. We will begin to suffer compassion fatigue. We will begin to suffer from all the stress that we have placed on ourselves. We will begin to no longer appreciate the Birth of Our Savior and the wonders of this season. We will find ourselves avoiding times of meditation of God's Word (we are too busy) or times of sharing sacred space and time with God (prayer and contemplation).
This week, let's do our best to take a needed time out. A time out to confess and if need be repent. A time out to allow God to do a deeper inner work in our lives. A time out to get refocused and to live out our faith in Jesus. Not to get one more present or attend one more party. Not to make sure that the table and the decorations all are just right. But to spend time at the feet of Jesus. To really make sure that this Advent Season that our King is truly at the center of our lives. To make sure we have time for one another - from the very young to the very old.
This morning, let us pause at the end of our service and pray for one another. Perhaps you need to confess and repent this morning - our altars are open. Perhaps you feel the need to allow the Holy Spirit to work on an area that needs transformation. Perhaps you faith needs to be more active inwardly than mere outward acts.
This morning, let us pause and ask the LORD to lead us, guide us and anoint us anew with His Holy Spirit.
Closing Song/Open Altar
