Advent 3: The Fore-runner... Preparing the Way Luke 1. 5-25
John was born to "prepare the way" for the Lord to come.... Each of the Gospels refers to this strong, courageous, unconventional character who was there, beside the river Jordan, baptising people who came wanting to turn from their sins, and laying down the demands of the coming Kingdom. And when Jesus came along, John recognised "The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" and was willing to go into obscurity while Jesus took centre stage. It was all as had been promised: he was there to "prepare the way of the Lord."
But only Luke gives the details of John's miraculous birth, to the aged Zechariah and Elisabeth. For Luke, it is the story of John's birth that starts the Gospel. I want to focus on the encounter Zechariah had with the angel. Here is an old man, maybe under a cloud of sadness that he has no children; as a Priest he is called upon to offer incense, and while he is in the temple God's angel promises him a son, who will be the one who will prepare the way.
If we want to prepare the way for Jesus, getting ready for Jesus to show something of his kingdom, in advance of his final return we need to look not just at the way the rough clothes and the locusts and wild honey john looked. We need to look at his inner life.
Sacrificial Discipleship. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, (v15). Now, I don't usually preach about drink, and you can't say the Bible teaches that drinking alcohol is a sin. But you can say that going against your conscience is a sin; you can say that drinking to excess -the point where you are influenced in your character, you words, and you ability safely to perform tasks like driving - is a sin. And you can say that to do something that you know will cause other people to struggle, is sin. You may say, "It's a sacrifice to do without my pint, my glass of wine". But it was more of a sacrifice in the time of Jesus when there was no Coca Cola or even a cup of tea! For some of us it may be a sacrifice God calls us to make. Specifially for John, I identified him as a Nazirite, one like Samson, set apart for God.
Christian service may be a sacrifice. Baking for Coffee morning may be a sacrifice. Teaching in Lighthouse Kids or Bible Class may be a sacrifice. Minding the grandchildren, going shopping for a neighbour may be a sacrifice. Attendance may be a sacrifice: going to church when there's something exciting on TV, or when it's a boring prayer meeting; or when you don't see the point; or when the place is cold or the music isn't to your taste. Sometimes not going to Church can be a sacrifice - perhaps because you need to be with your family. Witness will be a sacrifice: being counted as a Christian at work. Giving may be a sacrifice: recession hits charities including Christian ones and Churches, for a number of reasons: one of these is that Christians have not grasped the idea of sacrificial giving. And changing as a Christian or a church will involve sacrifice. We need to get beyond the "feel-good factor" to understand the nature of sacrificial discipleship. Preparing the way of the Lord, means sacrificial discipleship. I know this is something I cannot do. I cannot bring you painless, cost-free revival, because such a thing does not exist.
Spiritual Power "He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. (v. 15) Here is the first reference to the Spirit's work in Luke's writing. And it's the first of many. Next, it's what the angel says to Mary: her virgin pregnancy will be the work of the Holy Spirit. Then Elisabeth, John's mother was filled with the Holy Spirit when Mary visited her. When the baby Jesus was taken to the temple, the old man Simeon who blessed Jesus, was caught up "in the Spirit"... Before Jesus was baptized, John identified him as the "one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit"; the Spirit came upon Jesus like a dove; he was led by the Spirit in the desert; then when he began his work he said "The Spirit of the Lord his upon me..." One of the big truths Luke's Gospel keeps pointing to, is the work of the Spirit. Someone said that "Acts of the Apostles" could be called "The Acts of the Holy Spirit" It could be called "The Acts of the Hoy Spirit, part two." Luke's theology of the Spirit is in both books.
You can't get away from it. Any revival, any "coming of Jesus" to do kingdom stuff- is going to have to involve the work of the Holy Spirit. There's no Spiritless revival just like there's no cost-free revival. If we want to prepare the way, we need spiritual power.
Strong words... "He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." Lk 1:16f Speaking like Elijah means being prophetic; Elijah challenged idolatry wherever he found it. For John that would mean challenging the rich, religious and powerful - "You brood of vipers..?" It involved spelling out in plain terms, what repentance meant for ordinary people - tax-collectors, soldiers, and ordinary people: "He who has two tunics, share with the guy who has none..." But there is also a tenderness there: preparing the way included a call to reconciliation "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children (v 17)
Listen, I don't believe we need to be the censorious church, always tut-tutting about how bad the world is getting. But we need to have something to say: we need to be prophetic in our society. And that means we need to hear the prophetic word ourselves: to be prepared to be challenged. We need to know what the Gospel is, and how this gospel can change people's lives. We need to be able to speak an affirming, positive and loving word into the hearts of the hundreds of people around us who think God doesn't care about them.
Simple faith Why was poor Zechariah struck dumb, and made to spend the nine months of Elisabeth's pregnancy in enforced silence? I tell you why. I believe our words matter. God wanted John was to be nurtured into Sacrificial Discipleship, Spiritual Power, and an ability to speak strong words. What, more than anything, could parents do to threaten that? They could speak words of unbelief. It was important that John grow up with an attitude of simple faith; and in order to grow up with an attitude of simple faith he had to grow up in an atmosphere of simple faith. And the complicated thinking of a jaded old man who was inclined to say "I don't know how that can possibly be" was not the best way to create and atmosphere of faith." Unbelieving words do damage: they release negative consequences.
They have a profound effect on children. When I was about eight years old, my Dad applied for a job in Melton Mowbray. For some reason he told me if we moved, we would have to travel down there in a train with no toilets... Let me tell you, I dreaded that journey. If you tell a child he's no good, he will believe you. If you tell a child the situation is hopeless, he will believe you. If you tell a child God doesn't answer prayer, he is going to believe you. And if you act as though God never answers prayer - that is to say you don't really pray about stuff - the child will pick up the idea that prayer isn't something you do in real situations.
The same applies to adults. In giving feedback to adults in training situations, you are supposed to find five good things to say, then one bad one: people have fragile souls.
And it applies in the heavenly realms, too. When you say something will never work, someone will never get sorted out, you are perhaps unintentionally speaking a curse over them. That is what negative words can do.
John needed to grow up knowing he was loved by his heavenly Father; he needed to know his value as a person was not connected with his popularity, or prosperity. He needed to be able to trust that when God gave him a prophetic word, God would back that word up. He needed to know when he baptised people that God was meeting with them to forgive their sins. When he started to say, "I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming...." (Lk 3:16) he needed to know that the Promised one was coming.
We, as we seek to "prepare the way" for the present and coming Kingdom of God, as we prepare the way for the Christ of Christmas to display his Kingdom by pouring out his Spirit; to harvest souls in preparation for his return, need that simple faith. It will enable us to live in sacrificial discipleship, to move in spiritual power and to speak strong words.
© Gilmour Lilly December 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment