Repent -
Troubling Word In Advent
Luke 3:1-6
December 10, 2006
 Audio
Link: Repent - Troubling Word In Advent
 John the Baptist shouted in the wilderness. John’s message was,
“humble yourself, confess your sins and repent, receive baptism, and open the
“way” for the Messiah to take hold of your lives.” John’s announcement of
the Messiah’s coming fell softly on no one’s ears. He certainly didn’t try to
lead his audience into believing that they could welcome the Savior with an
unthinking enthusiasm like that of a child who looks forward to Santa Claus
coming to town.
John the Baptist’s message was troubling. He didn’t care about
people’s response or evaluation. He didn’t say what people wanted to hear, but
he did say what people needed to hear. His only focus was the coming Messiah
and our right preparation for it.
John’s message was “prepare the way of the Lord.” “Prepare”
refers to making something ready; “way” could also be translated “road.” Thus,
part of “preparing the way” is to make His path straight.
When a king proposed to tour a part of his kingdoms in the east,
he sent a messenger before him to tell the people to prepare the roads. So John
is regarded as the messenger of the King. But the preparation on which he
insisted was preparation of heart and of life. He said, “the King is
coming, mend, not your roads, but your life.” There is laid on everyone of us
the duty to make life fit for the King to see.
The people of Israel who came to see this prophet in the
wilderness, were faced with a life-changing message. If they would prepare
themselves — clear away the spiritual debris and straighten any “crooked”
moral paths — the way would be ready for their King and Messiah to come.
The Messiah that John the Baptist announced is certainly a
threat to anyone who has become self-satisfied and overly comfortable with their
lives, values, and opinions. The King that John called people to prepare for was
One who came to interrupt that normal course of life in order to introduce the
way of God. The Christ was coming and the people needed to be prepared to
meet him, even though the preparation was going to disrupt their lives.
Two fellows opened a butcher shop and prospered. Then an
evangelist came to town, and one of the butchers was saved. He tried to persuade
his partner to confess his sins and accept salvation through Jesus Christ also,
but to no avail. “Why won’t you, Charlie?” asked the born-again fellow. “Listen,
Lester,” the other butcher said. “If I confess my sins and get religion, too,
who’s going to weigh the meat?”
John the Baptist says that we have to prepare the way for
Christ. If you had an important guest coming for Christmas, what would you
do? Whenever we have special guests come to my house, SunAe and I always clean
up inside the house. There are so many things to do when preparing for
guests—turn on the outside light, prepare a special meal, decorate with some
flowers, light the good smelling candles and prepare small gifts, put on nice
clothes and fix our hair, and so on. However, in my case, the most significant
and major preparation I do to prepare for guests is to clean certain areas of
the house, especially the bathroom, and I get rid of junk just lying around the
house. In other words, cleansing the inside of your house is repentance.
This Advent season is a time of preparation. What would
you do if you have a very special guest coming? What is the best preparation we
can do during this Advent season? What is the most urgent thing we need to do to
prepare for the coming Christ? Truly, we have to celebrate on Christmas day, we
sing beautiful songs and pray sincere prayers. We enjoy the Christmas spirit
with precious gifts and a delicious meal. We share God’s love and grace with
family, friends and neighbors. However, I believe we should, as John the
Baptist proclaimed, get cleaned up inside and recognize our sinful nature, in
one word, repentance. This is the first and most urgent thing to do in this
Advent season.
We now are studying the prophets of the Old Testament in
Disciple 3 class. What we learn from the prophets is, even though each prophet
has a different background, calling, and context of ministry, each preached the
same simple, but strong message to Israel that the only hope for the people
was to repent and change their hearts. Not only the prophets but also many
of other prominent Bible figures proclaimed the message of repentance.
Think about this. Noah’s message from the steps going up to the
Ark was not, “Something good is going to happen to you!” Amos was not confronted
by the high priest of Israel for proclaiming, “Confession is possession!”
Jeremiah was not put into the pit for preaching, “I’m O.K., you’re O.K.!” Daniel
was not put into the lion’s den for telling people, “Possibility thinking will
move mountains!” The two prophets of the tribulation will not be killed for
preaching, “God is in his heaven and all is right with the world.” John the
Baptist was not forced to preach in the wilderness and eventually beheaded
because he preached, “Smile, God loves you!” Instead, what was the message of
all these men of God? Simple, one word: “Repent!”
This is my favorite saying: “You can manage anger, but do not
try to manage your sin. You only can make it worse". Do not negotiate with
sin, sin is not the something with which we can negotiate. Do not try to make
excuses before God for your sin, “Practically or technically this is not the
sin.” God does not want to hear any excuse from you, but he wants to hear
confession from you and he wants to see your repentance. “Confess your sin,
repent of your sin, cleanse your heart, and do not turn back again.”
Does repentance not fit for the Advent and Christmas season?
Does John’s message contain troubling words for Advent? Was John the Baptist a
person who was senseless or careless, out of his mind or a Maverick? No, he was
not. He knew what he was doing. His message to repent is most appropriate one
for Advent. Repentance is an appropriate message not only for Lent, but also for
Advent. Advent is one of the most appropriate times to think about repentance
because our preparation for the coming Messiah begins with cleansing our hearts.
Christmas is a great day for all people, especially believers
all around the world. It is the time of year to ponder and meditate upon the
coming of Christ. And this coming, as John pointed out, was to free us from our
bondage to sin. The best way to experience Christmas this year is to do so
“repentant and sin-free.” No amount of holiday cheer plus personal sin can
satisfy the human heart more than one that is free from sin.
 In today’s Scripture, John says we need to stop and take a
time to examine our lives. Are there areas in our lives that we need to
repent? Are there activities that we are involved in that lead others or us to
unhealthy living? Are there relationships that need repair or more time and
attention? Do we give ourselves over to God for God’s purposes? John wants us to
repent, so that we can receive forgiveness and “see the salvation of God” (v.
6).
We celebrate the second Sunday in Advent, and we continue our
Advent journey of light and hope, preparing a way for the coming of the Lord.
What are you doing to prepare for Christmas? Are you decorating your house
inside and outside? Are you buying gifts for loved ones? Are you planning a big
family dinner? Are you preparing some cards to send?
Two thousand years ago, during the first Advent, John the
Baptist did not think to wear nice clothes, decorate nicely, hire a marching
band, buy expensive gifts, or cater a banquet when he prepared for the coming
Messiah. Rather, he urged a change in people’s heart and a new direction in
their lives. Like the first Advent, the first thing we should do to be
prepared for this Advent is to repent. The most crucial preparation was, and is,
repentance.
Guess who’s coming this Christmas? Jesus is coming and he’s
coming to stay. A most precious guest is coming; let us use these days of Advent
to prepare our heart and mind for his arrival. Let’s cleanse us first! Let us
prepare ourselves for the celebration of the coming of Jesus Christ through
repentance.
This
Sunday's Choir selection - "Jesus
Is Coming, Prepare The Way"
Music from Moore's Chapel
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