Advent, which means coming, is a
traditional observance among more liturgical Christian bodies. It is spread
over several weeks leading up to Christmas; each Sunday of Advent offers us a
look into the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Advent actually begins a segment of
the liturgical calendar which extends into January with the Epiphany . Advent may be described as a "progressive retrogression", that is it begins in the future and moves into the past.
Dear Reader Please Scroll Down to Read
the First Installment(s) in the Advent Series
Gaudete Sunday ,the Third Sunday of Advent:12/15/2013 : Rejoice
When John stood on the banks of that Jordan he had a message which called on persons to repent ,that is,to change the way they thought and behaved.
He called on the people of Israel to repent, in light of the coming of the Messiah , to alter their lives, to be free of the ways that led to hart ache and suffering;
"In those days John the Baptist came,
preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is near" Matthew: 3:2-3
Jesus' coming into our lives always calls on us to repent,
to change, but in doing so we can truly "rejoice and be glad in Him".
We can rejoice in that we can be free from the past ways of thinking and behaving that
brought on so much suffering. There is hope.
“Rejoice
in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known to
all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful
for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” Philippians: 4:4-6
This rejoicing is the understanding that the
things of this world are temporal, and only last for a moment , both the good and the bad. We can
understand repentance as a letting go of the things of this life and the world, that because of Jesus ‘ coming we
can now take hold of the eternal. The things which are above.
All things of this life which brings us only momentary joy or suffering, what ever they might be are for this life alone. Gold , silver, titles, positions, fame, bricks and mortar ; all of it ends when we depart this life and are left behind.
All things of this life which brings us only momentary joy or suffering, what ever they might be are for this life alone. Gold , silver, titles, positions, fame, bricks and mortar ; all of it ends when we depart this life and are left behind.
Things Above
“If you
then be raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ
sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on
things on the earth. 3 For you are dead,
and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall
appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory”. Colossians:
3:1-4
When we have let go of the things of this world, we
have an eternity to look forward to, but even more we have Jesus here and now,
not just “someday”.
Paul wrote regarding Jesus, calling Him , “who is our life” ; that is even now, Jesus is living moving and
shaping us . We so often think of these things as just “some day”. But here and now we can rejoice over what is ours in our
Lord, this all the more, should heighten our anticipation of what awaits in Him. We are able to have but a glimpse of it.
He Comes to Us
These are the things we can embrace and walk in,
as we live by the lead of the Holy Spirit. We can rejoice as our Lord transforms us in His coming, his advent to us . Jesus lives in us and His life in us is demonstrated
by the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, and all
the more His life is lived out in and by us.
This happens when Jesus “comes to us”.
“And I
will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may
abide with you forever;” John: 14:16
“I will not leave you comfortless: I will
come to you. a little while, and the
world sees me no more; but you see me: because I live, you shall live also. At
that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you”(18-20)
When Jesus comes to us then we should be as John Baptist said:
“He must increase, but I must decrease”John: 3:30
Those around us see
this decreasing of “ourselves”, as
the character attribute of Jesus Himself increases in our lives. The decreasing of the "fruit of the flesh", that is we have an all new life, the life of our Lord in us. Jesus did not just come to enhance our present life, that is amplifying us , rather He came to be our life, it is a transposition from who we are , to being who He is.
“This I
say then, Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and
these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that
you would. But if you be led of the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the
works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
jealousies, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Contentions, murders,
drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I
have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not
inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such
there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the
affections and lusts.
If we
live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of
vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” Galatians:
5:16-26
When we hear the call of John to repent of the things which have sowed such strife among us, when we experienced the forgiveness of sin , there can be such joy come to us.
Understand this, we are not just forgiven of what we have done, or thought, that is ours sins, but rather we are forgiven of who and what we are. God in His Son, has dealt with the very heart of sin which is our flesh.
We, in Christ , have been crucified, that is the very flesh form which our sin proceed from has been dealt with. The Apostle Paul writes of this crucifixion of our flesh through our Lord and what He accomplished for us.
He has shared our Flesh that we might share eternity with Him.
Understand this, we are not just forgiven of what we have done, or thought, that is ours sins, but rather we are forgiven of who and what we are. God in His Son, has dealt with the very heart of sin which is our flesh.
We, in Christ , have been crucified, that is the very flesh form which our sin proceed from has been dealt with. The Apostle Paul writes of this crucifixion of our flesh through our Lord and what He accomplished for us.
He has shared our Flesh that we might share eternity with Him.
"For the love of Christ constrains us; for we have considered , that if one died for all, then were all dead:
And
that he died for all, that they which live should not from now on live
to themselves, but to him which died for them, and rose again." 2Corinthians:5:14-15
We are, even now, are new creations in Jesus. All that we were , is now past. We can rejoice in this.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ,he is a new creation;the old is gone; behold , all things are become new." (17)
The Joy Beyond
"Looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."Hebrews:12:2
This joy, even facing the cross of suffering ,can be ours as well, when we take hold of all that our Lord has come to us that we might have. When we see it , that is, what awaits us beyond all that we face in this life with its hardships and troubles and pain then we can rejoice.
Consider that the Great God , has come for you and I , for each and all, none are found outside of His love. He Loves each of us and would not be without us. He has come in the person of His Son Jesus, He has come to die that we might live. He has come to show us that He loves us more than He loves Himself and proved it in taking on our flesh and dieing in it. Jesus' coming, His advent, was an act of love not just a necessity.
"God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that who so ever believes in Him should not perish have eternal life" John:3 :16
When we come to grasp the depth of God's love for us it should alter our lives, transform us. If we could only take hold of it ,we would be forever changed by it.Joy would fill us and rejoicing would break forth in or lives.
Jesus' coming , His advent, brings us great joy, a joy that can resound in this life as we rejoice in Him here and now and on into eternity, giving Him all the praise and glory for what is Advent has brought to us. Amen.
Rev.Todd Crouch, Pastor
The
Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike.
2101 Old National Pike.
Washington,
Pennsylvania.
www.gcfountainoflife.org
The
Fountain of Life is heard on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in
Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM in the Arden Fair Grounds area
of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela,
Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com
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