Scripture: Zephaniah 3:14-20; Luke 3:7-18
Theme: 3rd Sunday of Advent - Prepare the Way
Title: The Messiah Is Coming - What Do We Do?
This sermon focuses on John's message of repentance. What do we do after we have repented and while we wait for the coming of the Messiah (First for them - Second for us)? John gives us some practical advice.
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God our Father and from Jesus Christ our Savior and LORD!
Welcome to the 3rd Sunday of Advent.
We have already enjoyed looking at Advent as the Season of Hope and the Season of Peace. We know that we can have Hope in Jesus Christ and Hope in the living the Life of Holiness. We know that we can have Peace in the sense that as God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit refine our hearts and lives we find ourselves more at peace with Our Lord, with ourselves, others and with our world.
Today, our Gospel passage takes us to the time of John the Baptist. John is busy preaching. His goal is for people to repent of their sins, experience God's saving grace and live a holy life. He is proclaiming that the door of repentance is open for all who want to enter in and receive God's grace and mercy. He is busy proclaiming the message of the Kingdom of Heaven and the coming of the Messiah. John is determined to do his best to help people be ready to meet the Messiah - the Savior of the World.
This is his goal as God's prophet. He is calling people back to the LORD. He is calling those who have never heard the message of salvation to the LORD. John's message is exclusive. He is calling out to all those who are willing to come and hear the Good News whether they are Jews or Gentiles.
However, John is much more than a measly screaming evangelist. John does not seek to create an environment of fear and/or judgment. John is not interested in creating an atmosphere of guilt and remorse and nothing more. John in interested in people experiencing a transformation that not only transforms their lives but the way that they relate to others. John wants them to experience what it means to be a genuine human being reflecting God's Glory and Honor. John wants them to experience what it means to live out a life of holiness in this world.
Bible scholar and teacher N. T. Wright shares with us a little insight on this passage. Listen to his words this morning:
"A cartoon shows a sceptic (skeptic) shouting up to the heavens, 'God! If you're up there, tell us what we should do!'
Back comes a voice, 'Feed the hungry, house the homeless, establish justice.'
The sceptic (skeptic) looks alarmed. 'Just testing,' he says,
'Me too,' replies the voice.'" (Luke For Everyone - pg. 35).
We see this morning John's message brought great comfort and yet was somewhat distressing. Comfort in the fact that his audience knew that when the Messiah came He would bring about salvation and justice. The Messiah would set all things right. Distressing in the aspect that John says that the Messiah will also use a farmer's fork to separate the wheat from the chaff. The Messiah would then use the fire to burn up all that He deemed unworthy and worthless.
That picture of burning up the chaff was not exactly the picture that the ancient Israelites wanted to envision and it is not quite the picture that we want to see when we think of the birth of Jesus or the idea of Jesus being Our Messiah, Savior and LORD. The part about salvation is music to our ears but the aspect of Jesus using a farmer's fork to separate the wheat from the chaff and then consume that which is bad doesn't quite give us the warm fuzzes that we desire this time of year.
Jesus as a mere baby laying in the manger makes a great Hallmark picture and movie. Jesus holding a farmer's fork along with a torch on fire is a little daunting. Jesus as Savior is warm and comforting. Jesus as judge can be a little unnerving depending on what His verdict is for our lives. And yet, the Bible tells us that Jesus the Messiah is both - Savior and Judge.
One of the great things about John's message ( and the message of the whole Bible) is that it focuses both on evangelism and holiness. John proclaims a genuine repentance that leads to a spiritual fruit bearing life.
For John repentance meant much more that to feel remorse about something or to just attend confession with no hope of real change. John believed in a repentance that radically altered one's direction and life. A repentance that led to a changed heart and a changed life. A repentance that would bleed over to our jobs, to our lives in general and to all the people that we connect with on a daily basis.
In verse 10 the people responded to John's message with a very important question. It is a question that not only was pertinent to John's day it is highly pertinent to our day as well.
Once we realize that we need repentance, grace, mercy and love how do we respond to all of that? How do we then live out the type of life that is fitting for the Kingdom of Heaven? How do we make sure that our lives are like the wheat instead of like the chaff?
John gives us some very practical and wonderful advice. Let's look at what John says and by doing so we will understand more clearly how we are to live today as we wait for the Second Coming of Our Messiah, Savior and LORD - Jesus Christ.
I. BE A PERSON OF SHARING
John doesn't mince very many words in verse 11. He doesn't get into some type of ethical debate. He doesn't try to get into some kind of theological discussion doing his best to spend time on some small detail of the Mosaic Law.
John just says - SHARE.
Plain and Simple - SHARE WHAT YOU HAVE WITH OTHERS
John says one of the ways that we show that we have repented is that we become sharing people. We share that which we have. If we have two tunics or extra food then we do what God wants us to do - SHARE.
Rather simple - YES?
Yes - but not so simple. I mean, the art of sharing is not something that we naturally do as human beings. Especially when sharing means at times giving something away. Sharing that leads to giving is what John is talking about.
If you have ever worked around small children you know what I mean. It doesn't take us very long in life to be able to say the word - "mine" and it takes us even less time to grab something in our hands and not want to let go.
Sharing is something that we have to learn as children, as teens and as adults. Sharing is not always easy when you really think about it.
For instance - how easy is it for us to think about
+Sharing a room +Sharing a closet +Sharing the Kitchen +Sharing Our Tools
+Sharing a Car +Sharing Our Money +Sharing Our Food +Sharing Clothes
+Sharing a Cell Phone +Sharing a TV +Sharing a Bathroom +Sharing Grace
When we put John's words into practice then we begin to see how difficult all of this sharing can actually be in real life. We begin to notice how we are tempted to become children all over again saying things like "well, it is mine", "if you wanted one you should have got one" or "I can't wait until the day comes that I no longer have to share".
Suddenly, we realize that what John says here is actually radical. Sharing what we have with others that ends up with us giving something away is actually radical.
We won't dwell too much on this one but let's just say - If you have something that someone else needs and you have more than one then we need to learn how to share. Two tunics - give one away. Too much food - give some away.
I think this is one of the greatest ministries that we can participate as we get older - the ministry of sharing and giving things away. Why hold on to all the stuff that we no longer use or that could be used by others? Why hold on to things until we pass away and our children and friends fight over them after we are gone?
Why not begin the ministry of sharing - of giving things away. In fact, it is a new ministry that is starting all over the world. It is called "Giving while Living" by some and by others they are going with a Swedish word - dostadning ( dos - TAD - ning ). It's a hybrid of the words for death and cleaning. And as morbid as it sounds, that’s exactly what death cleaning is: the process of cleaning house before you die, rather than leaving it up to your loved ones to do after you’re gone.
I believe that I prefer the term - "GIVING WHILE LIVING" over "Dostadning" ( dos - TAD - ning). However, the concept is the same - it is the ministry of sharing what we have with others; especially those in need.
It does not mean that we give everything away. After all, John does not say to give both tunics away or all the food. He does say that we should share. What better way to share than as we get older and no longer have use for many things to give them away to those who can use them. What a wonderful way to embrace life and the life to come by being a person of Sharing/Giving.
II. BE A PERSON OF INTEGRITY/HONESTY
When Luke wanted to talk about integrity/honesty it may seem a little strange that he wrote about tax collectors. Tax collectors and sinners were considered to be equal in the areas of honesty and integrity. Both were seen as liars, cheats and crooks.
But then again, who could better display their repentance and holiness than an honest tax collector? The Apostle Matthew was an excellent example of a tax collector that had integrity and honesty.
Tax collecting at the time of John the Baptist was complex to say the least. The tax was collected for the government many times by a person who had submitted the best bid for the job. He/she would then hire out additional people to go and collect the taxes from the local citizens. With the addition of middlemen came the potential for extra surcharges to be passed on. So a person would not only have to pay the local tax but at times quite an number of additional surcharges as well.
Today, we all know a little bit about all of that. Here in the state of Tennessee when we buy a gallon of gas for 2.50 the real price of the gas is only $ 2.05. The reason we pay $ 2.50 is because the Federal government excises a 18.4 cent tax on every gallon and the state of Tennessee (2018) tacks on another 26.4 cent tax.
It is the same way with a person's electric bill or internet bill. For example where I live we have the following additional charges added to our internet bill:
+FCC Access Charge +Federal Excise Tax
+ Access Recovery Charge +Federal Universal Service Support Charge
+E911 Charge +State and County Tax
It would be nice if all of those surcharges and extra little taxes were left off but our world is not so different than the one that we find at the time of John and Jesus.
At that time (and apparently in our time as well) it was rather easy for tax collectors to fudge with the figures to make sure that they could get more than what the Law actually allowed. Their bosses often looked the other way. The only people that were hurt were the little people who had to pay not only the tax but all of the surcharges as well.
Notice that John doesn't say - Quit your job or get another job. He does not tell the tax collectors to get out of the business.
Instead, what he does say is be a person of the Kingdom at the job you have right now. If people around you are taking advantage of a particular situation at work and doing their best to get all they can then don't get upset with them or quit. Instead, be a beacon of honesty and integrity. Still make a living but don't get rich at the expense of others. Don't push people out of the way to make more money. Don't see people merely as a means of getting something yourself. Don't abuse people. Don't use people.
This one can be quite difficult as well. It is easy at times to see people as mere human mannequins or as mere numbers. It is easy to just see around people and not give them your full attention. It is easy while you appear to be talking to them that you are also thinking about how you can use them or some information to get ahead.
John is wanting us to live justly and to live uprightly. John is wanting us to slow down and treat people as people. He wants us to make a living but to do so in such a manner that we don't treat each other as means to an end or just a way to make more money or gain more influence.
Just because we can charge someone a great deal of money doesn't give us the right to do so. Just because there is a shortage or a high demand does not give us a right to exploit people to get a few more coins in our pockets. Just because someone may be innocent or naive about something does not give us a license to take advantage of them.
John wants us to be able to make a living but to do so in a spirit of righteousness and holiness. John wants us to be upright and righteous people who by their behavior shows that they have been transformed by God's Holy Spirit.
III. BE AN OUTSTANDING WORKER
Serving in the military at that time was not a job very many people wanted. The pay was lousy and for the most part the military was hated by the local population. More often than not, if we you saw a soldier you could bet they had been drafted into the military.
The soldiers that John was talking to were most likely from King Herod's own troops. Roman soldiers tried their best to stay away from Jewish religious figures and Jewish crowds. At any given moment a crowd could be incited to attack them or to throw things at them which in turn could turn into something ugly really fast and so they avoided such situations.
What John is dealing with is people who are working for others whether they would like to or not. John is dealing with people who for the most part probably did not like their jobs or their employers. John is dealing with people who worked very long hours and who barely received enough pay to exist on.
That ancient problem appears to be a present day problem as well. According to Gallup Research Studies somewhere around two out of every three ( 67%) employees are either not engaged at work or they are actively disengaged. That is to say they find no real connection to their job and therefore they do the mere minimum or they actively do less than the minimum. They resent their jobs, they gripe to co-workers and they drag down office morale as a result. They become disgruntled and they have a negative vibe around them about the work place.
I think we all have known those people and if we are honest there are times when we have probably been those people. How many of us have ever had a conversation with others about how our job is unfair, the pay is lousy and the boss is perhaps the worst person on the planet? How many of us have ever thought if we would just win the lottery or at least the Publishing Clearing House Prize we would stop working and tell the people we work for where they could put their job?
Oh, I know - you probably haven't done that but you might know someone who has.
John addresses this situation. His advice is quite clear.
+Don't abuse your situation at work or any other place.
If you have some sonority or some clout at work don't use it to bully other people around. If you have a door with your name on it don't think that you can just misuse people or make them do your ever bidding. Don't take advantage of your power or position.
If you make more than other people at work don't think that it is okay to throw it up in their face or make them feel like they are less of a human being. The same goes when we go to the store, the restaurant or out go out in public. Don't look down on someone because their job would be considered by many as menial.
Don't misuse your position - be it a soldier, a White Collar worker, a parent, grandparent or a mentor. Be an encourager. Be a person who uplifts those under you and seeks ways to help them be the best person they can be in this life. Be an Barnabas type of Christian who was known for his gift of encouragement.
+Don't pilfer
According to some recent surveys and reports done it is estimated that over 75% of employees take things from work that is not their property. This ranges from things as small as mouse pads, pens, paper, staples and even toilet paper.
Of course, we have to use some common sense here. Just because you take a pen home doesn't mean that the pen police are going to show up at your door. But then again if you plan to take a pen home or an another item home with your every day then that may mean that you have a problem.
Research has discovered that the reason many people feel that it is okay to take a few things is because they believe that they have been lied to by their employers or companies. They believe that they were promised a promotion or a raise and did not get it. They may feel even feel like they are owed some compensation and without really knowing it they make sure that get that little something by taking a pen or two here, a stapler or two there along with perhaps a tool or a part here or there. Nothing much but in the end it does add up.
John doesn't want to be the pen or the staple police but he does want us to be content with our wages. That does not mean that we do not try to make more or to find ways that can help the company pay more. It just means that we don't steal something to make up the difference. It just means that we do the best we can to be content and live within our means. It means that we become like Paul when he wrote this to the Church at Philippi:
"Not that I am speaking of being in need, fir I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things thorough him who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:11-13 (ESB)
Once again - simple but not easy.
We see this morning that:
+John was preaching repentance.
+John was preaching holiness.
+John was proclaiming the coming of the Messiah.
+John was doing all he could to get people ready for the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Today, we know that Jesus has already come as the Baby of Bethlehem. We know that Jesus will be coming back again someday. When that day will be we do not exactly know. We do know that it could be any day or moment. Bible scholars tell us that there is nothing more that needs to be done before Jesus can call His Church Home. Nothing is stopping the Second Coming.
That means more than ever today we need to be ready for Jesus' Second Coming. We need to read our Bibles and take seriously the words that John gave his audience concerning Jesus' First Coming.
The people who were listening that day were totally unaware that within just a short time, Jesus - Israel's Messiah would in fact begin His ministry. Here is John preaching about the Coming of the Messiah and in less than a few days the Messiah appeared and was baptized by John.
Those people who heard John at the Jordan had no clue that John's words would come to pass so fast.
We today do not know how soon it might be before the Lord Shows Up as both King and Judge? We today do not know how soon it might be for Jesus' Return to Our Earth.
So, what are we to do? How are we to live today?
John reminds us this morning that:
1. We are to be People Who Know How and Who Practice the Ministry of Sharing
2. We are to be People of Integrity and Honesty
3. We are to be People who Others see as the very Best of Workers
That is our Advent Challenge this morning - to be that type of people. To ask the LORD to be our Savior and LORD and then to go out and live the life of Holiness - a life that reflects God's Glory and Honor - a Life that enables us to live the Abundant Life here on this earth and on the New Heaven and Earth to come!
Let us close by singing - "Open My Eyes, That I May See"
Open Altar/Prayer/Blessing
