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Advent 12-6-2006 - Pastor Stiemke |
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1st Mid-Week Advent Service (12/6/06)
by Rev. Frederick A. Stiemke
Sir, we would see JESUS!
Emmanuel, Asheville, NC
Luke 1: 5-17
IN THE NAME OF JESUS!
In the name of our Advent King and Savior, Jesus Christ, dearly beloved:
The
season of Advent calls us to take a journey ?± as it were in God??s ?¨Time
Machine.?Æ We are already here at the present time, and God is with us.
But our Lord is also calling upon us in Advent to look back at His
great saving acts in the past, as well as looking forward to all our
loving Savior has in store for those who trust Him as Savior and Lord
in the future. Tonight our heavenly Father takes us in spirit to the
great city of Jerusalem, where so often chief events in the Lord??s
salvation history have taken place.
Today??s journey begins in
a valley ?± the valley of Kidron. To one side is the Mount of Olives.
Ahead of us is the winding path that wends its way up Mount Zion, on
top of which sits the temple erected by King Herod.
On this very
path Melchizedeck, the king-priest of almighty God, centuries ago
greeted Abraham, returning victoriously after Abraham defeated his
enemies in battle. This king-priest led Abraham into the city to
partake of a festive meal, and to Melchizedeck Abraham brought his
tithe in thanksgiving. King David trod upon these very stones when he
captured this key city of the Jebusites and thereafter moved his
capital here from Hebron. Along this path in religious fervor King
David danced before the Ark of the Covenant when the city of the king
became the City of the Lord Jehovah. Along this route came the Queen of
Sheba to visit King Solomon and to witness his extraordinary God-given
wisdom. On this very path the Babylonians forced those Jewish folks
spared in the conquest of Judah and Jerusalem to march out as slaves to
begin 70 painful years of exile and captivity. On this same road the
exiles returned from captivity sad in heart, weeping bitter tears at
seeing the utter destruction of their beloved temple on Mount Zion.
Three
different times in ancient history quarried stone, jewels and gold, and
tall cedars of Lebanon were transported along this path initially to
build and then twice to replace the great Temple of the living God on
the crest of Mt. Zion ?± first under Solomon, once by Nehemiah and his
cohorts after the Captivity, and years later begun by King Herod. The
latter took almost 91 years to complete that work, only to be destroyed
forever in 70 AD ?± just 7 years after its completion. On the altar
within this temple, myriads of animals had been sacrificed to
foreshadow the one all-sufficient sacrifice that Jesus, the Lamb of
God, would make for the sins of one and all on a much simpler altar ?±
two crossed beams of wood ?± outside the city wall.
More
importantly, here Simeon, to whom it had been revealed that he would
not die until he saw the promised Savior, held that precious infant in
his arms and sang his great song, ?¨Lord, now let Your servant depart in
peace.?Æ It was in that temple that a 12-year-old Jesus stood, amazing
the religious leaders and teachers with His spiritual wisdom and
knowledge of the Scriptures. From this temple Jesus had driven the
money changers and sellers of sacrificial animals and birds, who had
dishonored that sacred ground by doing business there. It was toward
this temple that Jesus rode on that first Palm Sunday. And it was here
in the Colonnade that the first Christians heard Peter, James and John
proclaim that the crucified, but now risen Jesus is mankind??s only hope
of eternal salvation.
In the midst of all those memorable
historical events, today??s Gospel reading tells of an event witnessed
by very few, but nevertheless it is extremely important. There we are
led to observe an aging priest, Zechariah, who had a lifetime dream
come true. Day after day through many, many years he had watched each
day as a fellow priest was chosen by lot to enter the first of the
inner chambers of the temple proper, the Holy Place, to burn incense
and offer prayers for himself and all his people. It was his division
of priests?? turn to serve that day; and, lo and behold, the lot fell to
him. So, there he stood highly privileged before the altar of incense
that he had longed so often to see. As he does, we also need to recall
that he and his aging wife, Elizabeth, were childless.
Suddenly
during the burning of incense and his offering of prayer on the right
side of the altar of incense stood the angel Gabriel. Zechariah, sinful
person that he was, was terrified. But Gabriel calmed his fears,
saying, ?¨Don??t be afraid!?Æ The angel went on to say that Zechariah??s
prayer had been heard and that he and his wife would have a son, even
though Elizabeth was well past the age of child-bearing. Gabriel
instructed him to name his son, ?¨John,?Æ which means, ?¨The LORD JAHWEH
is gracious.?Æ In addition, John would be great in the sight of the
Lord, filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. In fact, John would
prepare God??s people for the coming of the promised Savior. He would
resemble the great prophet Elijah in spirit and power by calling
disobedient people to the wisdom of righteousness, bringing many souls
back to the Lord their God. In other words, God was indeed about to act
to keep His promise to come Himself to save His people from sin, death
and hell.
Reading on, Luke??s account takes a sad turn.
Zechariah doubted that the Lord could actually fulfill His promise. So,
he asked for a sign. The angel Gabriel responds with a verbal barb,
reminding Zechariah who he is ?± he as a holy angel stands in the very
presence of God. The Lord, who doesn??t lie or make false promises, sent
him with this good news. For his unbelief Zechariah was struck
speechless until baby John is born.
What can we learn from all
this for our own earthly pilgrimage? Here the story takes an even
sadder turn. If we look carefully at Zechariah??s responses and directly
into his face, we will see the image of our own. Too many times we
don??t take Jesus at His word. Like Zechariah we, too, look for tangible
signs. Doubts and fears do assail us. Moreover, men and women and
children of our times are known as the ?¨NOW generation.?Æ Patience,
waiting for the Lord to act in His own time and way are not one of our
strong points. As I look back over my own life, I must confess that in
times of testing, I have often in effect lamented, ?¨Lord, didn??t I
learn patience the last time? Do I have to learn it all over again??Æ
All
this is indicative of our sinful rebellious hearts. It??s not letting
God be God, who certainly has the power to do whatever He promises, and
who assuredly knows what??s best for us at any time in our life. For
this our sinfulness, not only in the presence of God, but even before a
holy angel, we like Zechariah should be justly terrified. We deserve
not just to be made speechless like Zechariah, but to be cut off from
God and His mercy forever.
Thank God! Our merciful God is the
same yesterday, today and forever! As He dealt with Zechariah, our Lord
deals in the same manner with us today. He sends His messengers with
His word of pardon, forgiveness and love. More importantly, He sent the
Messenger, Jesus Christ, who comforts us, saying, ?¨Don??t be afraid!?Æ
Even as our Savior hung on the cross in punishment for our sin, He sent
this prayer message to His heavenly Father, ?¨Father, forgive them! For
they don??t know what they do.?Æ And He died, cut off from His heavenly
Father, to make that forgiveness possible by our holy and just God.
Even now as our victorious Savior, sitting at the right hand of the
Father in heaven, He is interceding for you and me. As through the ages
our merciful God has had the last word over all things, so now at the
present time and also in the days to come His message is that
ultimately all things must work together for good for those of us who
love God, who are called according to His purposes.
And wonder
of wonders! Because Christ Jesus is faithful and never breaks His
promises, that day will come when we hear the message from His own
lips, ?¨Come you, blessed of My Father, receive the everlasting
inheritance prepared for you from the foundation of the world.?Æ Lord,
keep us in this saving faith. Amen.
To GOD alone all glory!
© Rev. Frederick A. Stiemke, Vacancy Pastor
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 10 April 2007 )
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