For those who are looking for the daily readings for Advent, check out this simple chart.
For those who have no idea why anyone would want to, here's my 12/2 PM message.
ADVENT IS A REMEDY
FOR "CONSUMER CHRISTMAS"
COLOSSIANS
3:1-14
INTRODUCTION:
What
we read has to do with our behavior as Christians. As always, whatever Paul has to say about how
the Christian should behave, it is always grounded in gratitude for what God
has already freely given to us in Christ.
Recall
1:9-14, 20-23, and Paul’s affirmation that our walking worthy of Christ means
to continue by faith in Him (2:6-10). We
are not to be subject to man-made ordinances (2:16-23), but we are to live in a
way that honors God.
In
other words, he has taken down Legalism, Sacramentalism, and Mysticism. The same heresies are around today that were
back then, and so is the same remedy. Being
a New Testament Christian is not about being ritualistic, spooky, or
regimental, about having the right list of "touch nots", "taste nots" and "handle
nots", but by having heavenly affections, putting on the new man and putting off
the old.
He
goes on to explain then that the Christian life is a matter of;
·
Seeking after Christ 3:1a
·
Because
we are already Securely seated with
Christ 3:1b
·
The
knowledge of which should Set our
affections upon Christ 3:2
·
Since
we are Secure in Christ 3:3-4
·
Experiencing
the Substitution of Christ 3:5-15
I can't remember for certain, but I’m
pretty sure I got this quote from Tozer it sure sounds like him, but it’s good no matter who it came
from -
Within the church Jesus Christ the Lord
is central. The old writers used to say that Christ is to the church what the
soul is to the body--it is that which gives it life. Once the soul flees the
body there is nothing that can keep the body alive. When the soul is gone the
embalmer takes over. In the church of Christ--any church anywhere, of any
denomination--as long as Christ is there imparting life, being the life of that
redeemed company, you have a church; for Christ is central in His church. He
holds it together.
Jesus Christ is basic to the church.
He's underneath it--the whole redeemed company rests down upon the Lord Jesus
Christ. I know this sounds like a string of religious clichés, but I'd like to
say it at least in such a tone of voice that the cliché' element will go out of
it and you will hear it as though you are hearing it for the first time: the
whole Church of God rests down upon the shoulders of His Son. I think we might
be able to go around the world and simply cry "Christ is enough!'' Jesus
Christ is enough.
There is a weakness among us in
evangelical circles--we put a plus sign after Christ: Christ plus something
else. It is always the pluses that ruin our spiritual lives personally, and it
is always the additions that weaken the church. God has declared that Christ,
His Son, is sufficient. He is the way, the truth and the life. He is wisdom and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption. He is the wisdom of God and
the power of God and He gathers up in Himself all things and in Him all things consist.
So we do not want Jesus Christ plus something else.
As
you know, there is so much gnostic silliness associated with the idea of a
“relationship with God” that I hesitate to use the term except in
derision. But it is true that our union
with Christ all that matters. Not how we
feel, or what we think He is "saying to us in our hearts" (gag). But our union with Him as our life. That’s all that really matters.
The
true Christian faith is not an adolescent puppy love-affair with Jesus. But it is attachment of the individual to the
Person of Christ, and subsequently to the rest of His body, that is not only
emotional, but also intellectual, volitional, and covenantal. And as far as He is concerned, it is irrevocable.
If we believe not, yet he
abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:13)
There
is only One true Christ, of course, and the truly saved man or woman has an attachment to that Christ. Which requires knowing Who Christ is
theologically. Yes, I “fell in love with
Jesus” when I was saved. But that is
precisely what made me want to learn more about Him – to find out Who He really
is.
I
won’t bother to list the popular false Christ’s of our day. But there is only one true Christ. Here is how one of the ancient creeds
presented Him.
He is God of the substance of His
Father, begotten before all ages; Man of the substance of His mother, born in
the world; perfect God and perfect Man of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting;
equal to His Father as touching His Godhead, less than His Father as touching
His manhood; who although He be God and Man yet He is not two, but one Christ;
for as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ.
This
is the Christ we adore and we must have this knowledge of Him. That is, we must
have the Christ of Christian theology and we must have an intelligent attachment
to Christ. We must believe in the Christ of God, that He is what God says He
is.
What
that has to do with Christmas is this – those of us who are concerned that
there is so little of Christ in Christmas, and want to see Him put back, might
want to think about exactly Who it is that we are allegedly wanting to have the
preeminence. If we put any Christ into Christmas other than
the real One, we have only redirected the idolatry.
Now
our text tells us that the believer is involved in a great exchange – of the
old man and his ways for the New Man, and His.
Our old members are to DIE, Our old man that is to be DISCARDED, and Our
new man is to be DEVELOPED. And Advent
can contribute in a very positive way to that.
Now
I’ve built a huge front porch for what I’m about to say now, but just bear with
me, please. We say that we lament the
consumerism represented by the current observation of Christmas. In a manner of speaking, we say we want to
put that conspicuous consumption Christmas off, and that we want to put a
Christ-centered Christmas on. I agree,
and I applaud that desire.
But
we now have to ask ourselves, How? May I
suggest the observation of Advent?
In
an article entitled Advent, Wanting,
Waiting, Welcoming, Pastor Paul Gregory Alms remarked that “Advent is the Rodney Dangerfield
of the Church Year seasons”. I owe him some credit for much of what I am
about to say.
By that he means of course that It
gets no respect. It’s making a sort of
a comeback, by the way, but by and large, everybody wants to skip over it and
get to Christmas. From what I can see,
there is still a great deal of confusion about Advent, as if it was merely
“Christmas with Christ back in it.” But
it’s not just that.
Pstr. Alms observes that the general
feeling is;
Where are
the Christmas decorations? Why can’t we turn on the lights on the tree at
church? Why we can’t sing more Christmas hymns since we hear them at the mall?
When the entire world seems to be awash in Santa and decorations, no one seems
to care much about Advent.
After years of reading and thinking
and observing, I happen to think that to throw away Advent, as Advent is
supposed to be, is to open Christmas up to all the false Christ’s and
conspicuous consumerism that we say we deplore.
“Why is that?” I’m glad you
asked.
The message of Advent is just the
thing to help deepen our faith in Christ in spite of the carnival of consumerism
carnival the world imbibes every December.
Consumer Christmas
promotes covetousness and materialism. But Advent, you see, encourages
Christians to have a proper attitude toward possessions because it teaches us
that waiting and faith – and hope, even in times when it seems there is no
reason for it, are indispensable to the Christian life. Advent humbles us with waiting, and prepares
our hearts to receive and welcome Christ. Advent is the antidote for the commercial
Christmas frenzy and a template for our entire Christian lives.
Consumer Christmas
exploits the fact that by nature we are avaricious sinners. When gift-giving time rolls around, we think
about getting more stuff. But Advent whispers to us “this worlds
treasures are temporary.” The Scripture
readings and hymns set aside for this time of year proclaim that this world
will end – and soon. And then, our
material possessions – the things we so ardently wish for will be burned up
with fire.
Consumer Christmas
promises us that the presents we get or give, THIS YEAR, can deliver what we truly desire. But Advent
tells us that what we really want, whether we realize it or not, even when
we are distracted by the bubbles and baubles, is to be joined to our Creator,
who made us in His image. Advent hymns express
this – Hymns with titles like; O Come, O
Come, Emmanuel, and Come thou long
expected Jesus. Only the Son of God who comes in human flesh in
the manger, dies on the cross and will soon return can fill this desire.
Advent calms our frantic wanting and
points us to the manger, where, after four milennia of preparation, the Word of
God takes on mortal flesh – and once crucified, He blots out our sins with His
blood, and ascends to the Father, and sends us His Holy Spirit, to indwell us and
make us partakers of the divine nature.
He alone is our hearts true desire.
Advent reminds us that we are empty,
hungry sinners, waiting for a meal that we cannot provide for ourselves, and
that the One who can fill us will soon appear.
As for the main theme of Advent,
which is waiting, Consumer Christmas
has managed to twist that into waiting for the coming of any number of utterly
Christless things that “mean Christmas” to Christless people. They got the “not yet” part, but they don’t
know what they are supposed to be waiting for.
But Advent
recalls to us that living a life of faith means waiting for what is not yet
here. Jesus promised at His return a new
heaven and the new earth where all tears are wiped away. And for it we groan. And as we wait for it, we hear Gods Word,
cling to His promises and endure suffering.
I suppose you could say that all our
natural life is one big Advent season. We are always called to be watchful, and to ponder
our sinfulness, our mortality, our need for a Savior and our longing for a
better world. We ought to practice that
all year round. But this is the time for
embracing it. And with repentance, and faith,
we await the One who came in mortal flesh to die for us, take away our sin and
one day return.
Consumer Christmas,
because it even retains a few vestiges of the Christian faith welcomes a mixture of things both good
and bad – although sloppy sentimentalism has almost entirely replaced real
piety there. But Advent welcomes the Son of God.
Mary was not the only character that Luke tells us about that was ready
to welcome the Son of God when He came.
Elizabeth and Zacharias, John the Baptist, Anna the Prophetess, Simeon
the Priest – all of them expressed joy in welcoming the Savior in their own way
and in their own circumstances.
I think they picture very well the
Church – from the infant John, to the young adult Mary, on through the mature
Joseph, the middle-aged Zack and Liz, and the aged Anna and Simeon, together
the Church is poised in waiting, ready to welcome Jesus Christ at His final
coming, just as they were at His first.
This, by the way, is a good argument for trans-generational worship. We are all in the same condition, waiting for the same thing, looking to, and for, the same coming Savior. We are not alone – we have one
another. But more than that, Christ
Himself is with us. Even now, we welcome Him as they all
did – by hearing His Word and receiving it in faith. Whenever Gods Word is proclaimed to us, Christ
comes and is present with us. And the
Holy Spirit of God, working through the Word, creates faith in us, and in turn
we are filled with His presence.
So remember with me - Advent is a
time to want Christ and to wait for Christ, but it is also a time to welcome
Christ by hearing and believing His Word, and then to deliver Him, through the
faithful witness of you people, in your vocations and through sharing the
gospel.
What I would want for us to learn
this Advent season is to not be so quick to hurry on to Christmas. I want to reconsider old hymns, and learn
some new ones that speak of waiting and longing for Christ to come. I want to hear more than ever before what the
Scriptures have to say about that. And I'm seeing more about it in there than I ever have.
Because what we truly want is a
Savior, and while we wait for Him, we fill ourselves with His Word. Someday soon we will welcome His glorious
coming, joining with Him and all the saints in the feast that never ends.
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