ADVENT: UTTERLY NEW ANTICIPATION
ISAIAH 2: 1-5
NOVEMBER 28, 2004
INTRODUCTION: In the late 19th Century in America, there was a wave of enthusiasm for prophecies predicting the actual date for Christ’s Second Coming.
One such prophet was an Adventist leader William Miller (1782-1849). And it is in his movement that both the JW’s and the Seventh Day Adventists find their roots.
Miller first predicted that Christ would return on 21st March 1842, but then revised the date to April 3, 1843. Over 3,500 of his followers jammed the Boston Advent Temple, only to be disappointed.
You might have thought that the movement would have died. But it didn’t. Rather it continued to grow.
Miller decided to recalculate his date for the
Second Coming and soon publicised a new
date - April 18, 1844. When the messiah did not show up on that date, there was again frustration and some followers left the Adventist ranks.
Undeterred by these failures, Miller came up with a third date - 22nd October 1844. The date was publicized as the Millerite publication True Midnight Cry. And, surprisingly, this third date surprisingly rallied his followers.
They began to spread the news of the new date of the second coming with an enthusiasm that had not seen before. Churches which did not accept this message were denounced as agents of “Babylon.” and the devil
And - despite opposition from established, mainline religious groups -, thousands of people – including many clergy – began to defect to the Millerite cult.
As doomsday approached, the Millerites began to prepare.
One account notes that “Fields were left unharvested, shops were closed, people quit their jobs, paid their debts, and freely gave away their possessions with no thought of repayment.”
Huge press runs of Advent publications like The Midnight Cry warned the public that “The Time Is Short”. “Prepare to Meet Thy God!” and “The Lord is Coming!”
William Miller himself began peddling white “ascension robes” to the faithful, many of whom waited for the miraculous event in freshly dug graves.
But as we all know, the Second Coming did not occur on 22nd October 1844. Contributed by: Martin Dale
TRANSITION THOUGHT: UTTERLY: COMPLETE, ABSOLUTE AND UNCONDITIONAL; NEW: RECENTLY MADE, DISCOVERED, INVENTED, ETC.; UNFAMILLIAR; NOT THE SAME AS BEFORE, DIFFERENT; NOT USED BEFORE. STARTING AFRESH; UNACCUSTOMED; ANTICIPATION: EXPECT; FORESEE; REALIZE BEFOREHAND; BE AHEAD OF TIME OR OF ANOTHER; FORESTALL.
What does this have to do with anything? It is all about Advent. The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God. That is a process in which we now participate, and the consummation of which we anticipate. Scripture reading for Advent will reflect this emphasis on the Second Advent, including themes of accountability for faithfulness at His coming, judgment on sin, and the hope of eternal life.
In this double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as they affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power. That acknowledgment provides a basis for Kingdom ethics, for holy living arising from a profound sense that we live "between the times" and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God’s people. So, as the church celebrates God’s inbreaking into history in the Incarnation, and anticipates a future consummation to that history for which "all creation is groaning awaiting its redemption," it also confesses its own responsibility as a people commissioned to "love the Lord your God with all your heart" and to "love your neighbor as yourself."
Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing. There is a yearning for deliverance from the evils of the world, first expressed by Israelite slaves in Egypt as they cried out from their bitter oppression. It is the cry of those who have experienced the tyranny of injustice in a world under the curse of sin, and yet who have hope of deliverance from a God who has heard the cries of oppressed slaves and brought deliverance!
It is that hope, however faint at times, and that God, however distant He sometimes seems, which brings to the world the anticipation of a King who will rule with truth and justice and righteousness over His people and in His creation. It is that hope that once anticipated, and now anticipates anew, the reign of an Anointed One, a Messiah, who will bring peace and justice and righteousness to the world.
THESIS SENTENCE: UTTERLY NEW ANTICIPATION IS THE HOPE GIVEN THAT WE MAY WALK IN THE LIGHT OF GOD!
I. UTTERLY NEW ANTICIPATION IS ABOUT PROMISE V. 2
A. PROMISE IS TRANSITION: FROM CHAPTER 1 TO 2
B. PROMISE IS HOPE: THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD’S TEMPLE WILL BE ESTABLISHED!
C. PROMISE IS FUTURE: ALL NATIONS WILL STREAM TO IT!
ILLUSTRATION: Anyone who knows the history of the Adventist church knows that our founders started out believing they knew when Jesus would return. As they studied the prophecies of the Word of God, they became convinced that His return was imminent. When it didn’t happen as expected – that day we mark as the Great Disappointment on October 22, 1844 – many began to doubt and fall into discouragement. It was a few weeks after the Great Disappointment that William Miller wrote these words to the discouraged Advent believers:
“Although surrounded with enemies and scoffers, yet my mind is perfectly calm, and my hope in the coming of Christ is as sure as ever…. I have fixed my mind upon another time, and here I mean to stand until God gives me more light. – And that is To-day, TO-DAY, and TO-DAY, until He comes, and I see Him for whom my soul yearns.”
Contributed by: Adam Deibert
TRUTH: GOD’S PROMISES GIVE US HOPE FOR THE FUTURE!
QUESTION: IS OUR FOCUS ON OUR CIRCUMSTANCES OR HIS PROMISES?
II. UTTERLY NEW ANTICIPATION IS ABOUT PRESENCE V. 3
A. PRESENCE IS ABOUT PEOPLE: “Many” / others
B. PRESENCE IS ABOUT ENTHUSIASM: “Come, let us go up”
C. PRESENCE IS ABOUT INSTRUCTION: “He will teach us His ways”
D. PRESENCE IS ABOUT REPENTENCE: “We make walk in His path”
E. PRESENCE IS ABOUT THE LORD GOD!
ILLUSTRATION: Have you ever been in a service where the music and the message were so powerful, so uplifting that you sensed the glory of His presence? A.H. Ackley wrote about it once:
In my failure, sin, and sorrow, brokenhearted,
crushed and torn,
I have felt His presence near me, He has all
my burdens born.
I have seen Him, I have known Him, for He
deigns to walk with me;
And the glory of His presence will be mine eternally.
O the glory of His presence, O the beauty of His face;
I am His and His forever, He has won we by His grace.
Contributed by: Bruce Howell
TRUTH: THE LORD OUR GOD OFFERS US HIS PRESENCE!
QUESTION: DO WE WANT THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN OUR LIVES?
III. UTTERLY NEW ANTICIPATION IS ABOUT PURPOSE VV. 3C-4
A. PURPOSE IS THE LAW AND THE WORD: IT WILL GET OUT
B. PURPOSE IS JUSTICE: HE WILL JUDGE!
C. PURPOSE IS PEACE: HE WILL SETTLE DISPUTES
D. PURPOSE IS TRANSITION: NO MORE WAR!
E. PURPOSE IS PRODUCTION: PLOW SHEARS AND PRUNING HOOKS
ILLUSTRATION: The best-selling book among all Christian books right now is The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. Warren begins his book with these words…
“It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God.”
Contributed by: Jim Luthy
TRUTH: GOD’S PURPOSE IS TO TRANSFORM HUMANITY!
QUESTION: ARE WE LIVING FOR GOD’S PURPOSE OR OUR OWN?
IV. UTTERLY NEW ANTICIPATION IS ABOUT WALKING IN THE LIGHT OF THE LORD V. 5
A. WALKING IN THE LIGHT IS AN INVITATION: COME!
B. WALKING IN THE LIGHT IS COMMUNITY: O HOUSE OF JACOB
C. WALKING IN THE LIGHT IS HIS GIFT: LIGHT OF THE LORD
D. WALKING IN THE LIGHT IS THE HOPE OF THE END OF DARKNESS
ILLUSTRATION: A little boy forgot his lines in a Christmas presentation.
His mother was in the front row to prompt him.
She gestured and formed the words silently with her lips, but it did not help.
Her son’s memory was blank.
Finally, she leaned forward and whispered the cue, "I am the light of the world."
The child beamed and with great feeling and a loud clear voice said, "My mother is the light of the world!"
Jesus is the "Light of the world," but He certainly uses Christians to let His light shine in this world. Contributed by: A. Todd Coget
TRUTH: OUR GOD BRINGS AN END TO DARKNESS!
QUESTION: ARE WE WALKING IN THE LIGHT?
CONCLUSION: Part of the expectation also anticipates a judgment on sin and a calling of the world to accountability before God. We long for God to come and set the world right! Yet, as the prophet Amos warned, the expectation of a coming judgment at the "Day of the Lord" may not be the day of light that we might want, because the penetrating light of God’s judgment on sin will shine just as brightly on God’s people.
Because of this important truth, especially in the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Season of Advent has been a time of fasting and penitence for sins similar to the Season of Lent. However, a different emphasis for the season of Advent has gradually unfolded in much of the rest of the church. The season of Advent has come to be celebrated more in terms of expectation or anticipation. Yet, the anticipation of the Coming of the Messiah throughout the Old Testament and Judaism was not in connection with remembrance of sins. Rather, it was in the context of oppression and injustice, the longing for redemption, not from personal guilt and sin but from the systemic evil of the world expressed in evil empires and tyrants. It is in that sense that all creation groans for its redemption as we witness the evil that so dominates our world (Rom 8:18-25).
Of course, there is the problem of longing for vindication from an evil world when we are contributors to that evil. This is the power of the images of Amos when he warns about longing for the "Day of the Lord" that will really be a day of darkness (Amos 5:18-20). Still, even with Amos’ warning the time of Advent is one of expectation and anticipation, a longing for God’s actions to restore all things and vindicate the righteous. This is why during Advent we as Christians also anticipate the Second Coming as a twin theme of the season. So, while some church traditions focus on penitence during Advent, the spirit of that expectation from the Old Testament is better captured with a joyous sense of expectancy. Rather than a time of mourning and fasting, Advent is celebrated as a time of joy and happiness as we await the coming of the King.
NOW IS THE TIME TO CELEBRATE. NOW IS THE TIME TO WORSHIP. NOW IS THE TIME GIVE YOUR HEART. NOW IS THE TIME OF UTTERLY NEW ANTICIPATION. WILL YOU ENTER THIS HOLY SEASON WITH A FRESH AWARENESS THAT WE MAKE WALK IN THE LIGHT OF OUR GOD AS HE SENDS HIS LIGHT INTO OUR DARK WORLD. ARE YOU READY FOR THE LIGHT?
BENEDICTION: ROMANS 15: 13
