Larry C. Brincefield
larkayb@earthlink.net
Sunday Morning, December 1, 2002
Title: "Suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come" Mal 3:1 (NIV)
Text: Malachi 3:1-7
Introduction
1. When I was a young boy growing up, with my brother and sister, we LOVED Christmas!! We had some special traditions. On Christmas Eve we would drink cranberry juice and singing Christmas Carols while one of us kids would play the piano. My dad would read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and the Christmas Story from Luke Chapter 2. We would get to open ONE present on Christmas Eve... usually something boring....like socks. We would go to bed... while visions of presents danced in our heads. We would start waking up around 3 AM...asking Mom and Dad if we could open our presents yet. They usually held out until about 5:30 AM when we would get up ...and Suddenly....
all our anticipation
all our preparation...
all our excitement was finally rewarded...
Because Christmas was finally here, and we could open our presents. Mom always made a breakfast casserole for breakfast... And then Mom and Dad would likely go back to bed for a nap, while we kids played and fought over our presents. Now that I’m a parent... we try to continue SOME of those traditions...
singing Christmas carols,
opening 1 boring present on Christmas Eve
Reading "twas the Night before Christmas" and also the Biblical story of Christmas.
But we’ve tried to curtail others...
like the 3 AM wake up time!!
We try to hold out until 6 or 7 AM.
Read Text: Malachi 3:1-7
I’ve entitled my sermon this morning, "suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come" taken from Mal 3:1 (NIV)
Body
1. Suddenly the Lord Came...2000 years ago.
Over 2000 years ago, Jesus was born.
A. You would have thought that when royalty arrived...
people would have been more prepared.
Jesus was and is the King.
You would have expected Jesus to arrive in a more regal environment.
You would have thought that He would have been born in a palace...
His mother, Mary, laying in a special bed,
prepared to deliver the future King.
You would have expected there to be doctors and nurses
You would have expected the entire countryside would have been waiting for the delivery..
and then when the new King was born...
a great community celebration would commence.
foreign dignitaries would send their congratulations and gifts.
B. And yet, when this King was born
He came suddenly.
They were SEEKING the Messiah.
They had greatly anticipated His arrival
They KNEW He was coming...
and yet, the people WEREN’T prepared.
It wasn’t that they didn’t know He was coming.
They were given ample warning.
700 years before Jesus was born, In Isaiah 40:3-5 it says there will be "A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken"
400 years before Jesus was born, Malachi said, "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty." Mal 3:1 (NIV).
And the prophesy was fulfilled when Jesus went to the Temple in Luke 2:22, "When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord"
Before Jesus’ ministry,
John was the one who was prophesied about...
He was the one who was again preparing the people.
2000 years ago, Jesus came on the scene suddenly, and the people weren’t prepared.
2. Suddenly, the Lord will come again!
A.It isn’t as if it should came as a surprise...
We know all about it.
2000 years ago the angels said, "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven" Acts 1:11 (NIV)
Jesus Himself said, "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other" Matt 24:30-31 (NIV)
B. And yet, we know that He will come suddenly,
just like the first time...
and people will not be prepared.
Scripture says, "the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night" 1 Thess 5:2 (NIV)
We KNOW this...
and it is up to us to prepare the way.
3. Suddenly the Lord will come this Christmas.
A. The Lord will come again this year...
and yet, just like the other times...
there will be people caught unprepared.
There will be people caught up in the excitement of presents (just like me when I was a boy).
There will be people caught up in the excitement of family and friends and travelling.
There will be people caught up in the excitement of feasting
And they will be caught unprepared,
when the Lord suddenly arrives on the scene.
In fact, they may not even see that He has come.
B. Now don’t misunderstand me
there is nothing wrong with presents (if you were to ask my wife...she will tell you that I STILL get excited about presents)
There is nothing wrong with spending time with family and friends. (I am looking forward to some of that friend and family time.)
And there is nothing wrong with feasting. (I can almost taste that breakfast casserole now!!)
But in the process of celebrating Christmas....
don’t forget Christ
Conclusion
1.When I was a boy,
A. I was so excited about Christmas,
it seemed like Christmas never would come.
But then, when it finally came,
it happened fast.
Suddenly.
And man, was it exciting!!
Malachi 3:1 says, "Suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come"
And Malachi was right. Jesus did come...just like he, and Isaiah, and others said He would.
It seemed like it was going to take forever;
but then, before the world even knew it...
He came
and it sure was exciting.
B. And I hope you realize that suddenly, the Lord will come again.
Just like Paul, and Jesus, and thousands of preachers have said for the last 2000 years.
It may seem like it is going to take forever...
but be prepared,
because it will happen before you know it...
in a twinkling of an eye,
and it sure will be exciting.
C. And I hope you realize that suddenly, the Lord will come THIS YEAR
Maybe it seems like a long time since you have experienced the Presence of the Lord...
but be prepared...
prepare your heart...
Because, before you know it,
He is going to be there.
For you,
it may be in a service just like this one...
the Lord is going to show up
and it sure is going to be exciting!!
It may be in your home, as you are going through your Christmas celebrations....
the Lord will show up...
and talk about exciting.
I can assure you...
Christmas WITHOUT Christ, isn’t anything to write home about.
But Christmas WITH Christ, is just out of this world!!!
