The Desert Road that Leads to Christmas

December 8, 1996 - Advent II

Isaiah 40:1 Comfort ye my people, saith your God

INTRODUCTION

If someone were to ask you to tell them about the Messiah, how or where would you begin? George Frederick Handel began with the word, "Comfort!"

A MESSAGE OF COMFORT FROM GOD

That word "Comfort." the way the Bible uses it means consolation, and strength, and assurance, and hope. It doesn't mean softness and luxury, but it does mean God cares.

In fact, beginning with the word "Comfort" that story will be told again in words of scripture this evening (Messiah will be performed here at 7 o'clock) that God was made man, and that this man who was God was crucified for our sins, and that he rose again from the dead. The story of comfort, the Good News of the Gospel, goes on to say that if we will receive Him we, too, may become new creatures, sons and daughters of God.

This message of comfort was shouted in the desert. First Isaiah, and then John called out to people with very real, very desperate problems that God cared about them, and knew where they were. Deserts are places 'over at the edge of things,' out past where life is smooth and easy, out where life becomes a fight just to survive. Believe me, there are deserts of the spirit just as real and deadly as any Sahara that sometimes we are forced to cross. Times get hard, vows are broken, separations come. We find ourselves spiritually isolated. Maybe we ourselves have failed, and failed miserably. For whatever reason, we wake up to the fact: We are in the desert.

Without changing a word, these words of scripture are full of power for today. They say God loves you, and there is no desert where He cannot or will not come.

A PROPHET USUALLY BRINGS THE MESSAGE

God usually brings his message of Good News through a human instrument. Sometimes even a prophet. But prophets are people.

Isaiah was priestly and elegant. John the Baptist was, well, strange. He wore funny clothes. He ate strange food. 'Proper' citizens may have thought he didn't have the 'proper' worship style. But John loved God, and obeyed Him. His words carried great power.

Sometimes God's speaks through unexpected sources. God might even want to speak through you!

Pastor Fred Craddock tells the true story of a little girl from one of his early pastorates in Tennessee. Her parents sent her to church, but never came with her. They would pull in the church's circular drive, the little girl would hop out of the car, and they would go out for Sunday breakfast. The father was an executive for a chemical company, upwardly mobile, ambitious. But every Sunday, there was the little girl.

One Sunday Craddock says he looked out over his congregation and thought, "There she is with a couple of adult friends." Later, he realized she was there with Mom and Dad. When, at the end of the service, the invitation was given, Mom and Dad came down front, in their fellowship the came ' to join the church.'

"What prompted this?" Fred asked the father and mother after the service.

"Do you know about our parties," they asked.

"Yeah, I heard of your parties," said the pastor.

"Well, we had one last night again. It got a bit loud, a little rough, there was much drinking. And it woke up our daughter, and she came downstairs and she was on about the third step. And she saw the eating and drinking and said, 'Oh, can I have the blessing? God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food. Good night, everybody.' She went back upstairs.

People began to say, 'It's getting late, we really must be going,' and 'Thanks for a great evening,' and 'Thanks for a good...' Within two minutes the room was empty."

Mom and Dad picked up crumpled napkins and spilled peanuts, half sandwiches, took empty glasses on trays into the kitchen. And they looked at each other, and he said what they both were thinking. "Where do we think we're going?"

God had spoken to the right where they were. Their response in obedience became a homecoming.

God has people speaking for Him; if we will listen, God will speak! Have you heard Him recently? Do you think that: Sometimes even you and I might be asked to tell someone God cares!

It may sound strange, but we are called to be "on both sides" of the prophet's message of comfort.

We need the message ourselves, every one of us! We all desperately need God's peace, because we all have desert places to go through.

But we need to let the world know about this message, too. And when God comes to us, His Presence enables us to say with Isaiah and John: "God has told us Comfort ye! Comfort ye! God loves you!"

WHEN WE WELCOME JESUS INTO OUR LIVES, AND INTO OUR CHURCH , OUR WELCOME ITSELF BECOMES A MESSAGE OF COMFORT

My concern is: I WONDER IF WE FULLY REALIZE WHAT IT MEANS TO "WELCOME JESUS IN TO OUR LIVES, AND INTO OUR CHURCH'!! We don't bring Jesus into our lives or into the church by our own righteousness, or our good works. (But John the Baptist's message was rugged!) To "prepare the way of the Lord" means somehow we are willing to accept Him as LORD as well as Savior. I wonder if we really know what that means?

A young missionary went off to India 50 years ago and visited there a Hindu monastery whose halls were lined with pictures of many religious personalities of history, including Jesus. Every Christmas the picture of Jesus became a focus of prayer and sacrifice. It was obvious to the young, cultured Englishman that this was a perfect example of syncretism. Jesus had simply been incorporated into the Hindu world-view, and that world view was unruffled.

Slowly he began to see that his own faith had this same character, of bringing Jesus in to his own world-view, instead of radically rearranging it. Along with many other missionaries, on his return to the homeland that sent him he realized that here, too, was a mission field. (Leslie Newbigin, CT Dec 9,1996, 32)

I wonder if it is possible for any of us to realize just how much we are children of our secular, amoral, godless culture?? Sometimes I get the beginnings of a sick feeling way down inside that this "syncretism" is exactly what WE are doing. Many, many Christians have things in their lives that, practically speaking, are more important than God Himself. Possessions, material comfort, people's opinions, prestige—whatever— but a life/church like that is not going to get out the true message of God's comfort to a world than desperately needs it.

Spiritually, the world we live in is certainly a desert! I have a vision of a loving, caring community that becomes itself a Desert Road that Leads to Christmas! I believe that the believing, caring community is the basic unit God wants to tell the world He still loves them. In fact, I am sure that the ONLY way the world will hear is when churches just like our own hear and believe this word of comfort.

CONCLUSION

We hear a lot of challenge these days in evangelical circles for churches to "leave their comfort zone." By that I suppose we mean that we are supposed to say and do things we don't usually like to do. What that means to me is that I must stop being self-centered, and self-serving, and stop worrying about serving the petty gods of our 'desert culture,' and seriously go about welcoming God into my heart.

But God is challenging us to ENTER His "comfort zone" where whatever else happens, we are at home with HIM. Whatever we think it might cost, it is worth it!

We will never truly convert or convince the world to God by our wisdom, or our apologetic, as important as they truly are. But when we have opened our hearts to the message of HIS comfort— when God comes to us, and we truly love Him and love one another, then this church will be another one of God's voices, crying in the desert, "God loves you! Get ready, He is coming!" Amen.

PRAYER FOR ADVENT II

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our idols, that we may prepare with joy the coming of our Savior. Grant, then, that we, too, may join with the prophets in proclaiming the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

[To closing hymn, and benediction]