NOVEMBER 29, 2020 SUNDAY MESSAGE
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COMMUNION:
(1 COR. 11:23B-26)
“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
SAVE THE DATE: The 2020 Marriage Retreat is scheduled to be Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and November 8!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
We are hosting prayer team meetings for both the congregation at large and individuals to sign up for individual prayer.
SUGGESTIONS FOR WORSHIP:
Coty Miller’s own “Praise & Worship” Spotify playlist and “Praise & Worship” YouTube playlist (slightly different from each other), both of diverse music that are being constantly updated!
Bethel Music :
Bethel Music’s hours of live music YouTube Playlist, also being constantly updated
Bethel provides chords to most (if not all) of their songs here (just have to register email, but free!)
Live worship moments from the Upper Room YouTube Playlist
Journal writing! (I’m a writer too, so sometimes creative writing and writing my thoughts to God is my form of worship.)
Declare and worship with truth by singing and praying scriptures.
WORSHIP NIGHT! Dedicate a night to worship with friends and family, your house church or neighbors, those who need prayer, love worship, or just enjoy music through a video chat platform like Zoom. You can have one person leading at a time (switching off to whoever else wants to lead) while others sing along, pray, or prophesy, etc.
Serving your community, both online, in person, or both, is a great way to worship God, from spreading encouragement and God’s Word online to physically serving food to others. If you are able to go out and serve, click here for opportunities.
Transcripted Sermon:
There are various ways we could approach this season and the story of Jesus’ birth. As the staff, we were reading the Christmas story in preparation for Advent, we began to see a pattern emerge...there was a recurring theme of “rest” and the way God applies silence in different ways to orchestrate the events of the Christmas story - “Silence” has a way of speaking to us!
Some of us enjoy it the peace and quiet and others have a hard time with...I didn’t realize it until I got married but I’m the kind of person who always has music on...in the house, in the car, working, cooking...it doesn’t matter where I am or what i’m doing, I always have a playlist on call to throw on in the background or a song in my head as I’m walking around.
One day she is like, “do you ever just let it be quiet?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!
I was in a soundproof room one time - it was almost 100% absent of sound. As soon as I entered the room, I got incredibly DIZZY!
I knew that my balance and spatial awareness was connected to inner ear system and our ability to triangulate your position due to sound but I didn’t realize how much I subconsciously rely on it...sort of a human echo-location for you Dory fans out there!
As we are reading the bible and it was interesting to see in the Bible
how God USED silence and
How God BREAKS it...
...to create positioning and narrative progression in this story. Maybe it’s a sort of theological echo-location.
So, as we read the Christmas story this season, I want you pay attention to the way silence can be:
calming and peaceful,
wisdom when there are no words for a situation or solemn in reflection,
nerve-racking when you are waiting on a response,
the calm before the storm
it can even be a refusal to comply.
Sometimes it’s difficult to know what to do with silence, right?
For our first reflection time, I want you to think about it.
Where do you find yourself in this story?
Think about a moment in your life when silence was (1) PAINful OR a time when silence was PEACEful...maybe both.
It’s difficult to know what to do with silence sometimes, right?
...400 years of silence is where the Christmas story begins.
There was an EXTENDED moment of TIME that passed between the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is commonly referred to as “The 400 Years of Silence” because it’s a time when there was no communication from God, through His prophets, or from angelic messengers with His people.
It begins in Malachi 4 as we read a bit of a cliffhanger and the very last words of the entire Old Testament…
Malachi 4:5-6 says this:
5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
First, it should be noted that Elijah was gone by the time this prophecy occurred and that Elijah never saw death! He was taken by the Lord into heaven. The bible says,
“11 As they (Elijah & Elisha) were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.” -2 Kings 2
There’s already “miraculous events” surrounding this person’s departure from earth so a miraculous arrival would not have been a stretch...and the words of His return are just hanging in the air for 400 years
“I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents”
...for 400 YEARS!!
NOW, STOP FOR MINUTE and take this into account because it’s easy to hear something like that and just chalk it up to “wow, that’s a big number” but we don’t wait 400 years for anything and this wasn’t an easy 400 years...while there isn’t much from God, the world was roaring with upheaval and the people were desperate for God to break the silence!
I mean, this is:
400 years of waiting,
400 years of wondering,
400 years of confusion amongst God’s people
400 years of despair and clinging only to hope
400 seasons (winters and springs) and generation after generation of
“God, what are you doing?
Where is Elijah and when will the hearts of the children and parents be restored?
Speak to us! Speak into the confusion. Shine into the darkness. Send any prophet and SAY SOMETHING God! Anything!!
where are You?!”
But they heard NOTHING...for 400 YEARS...of complete and utter...silence.
These four centuries take place after the EXILE in Babylon, many of the Jewish people who had been carried off had returned and even rebuilt the temple with Ezra and Nehemiah. There was somewhat of a revival but, sadly, God’s people still do not live as God had instructed them.
This carries on to the time of Jesus. You can open your bibles to Luke 1:5-17. By this time:
The temple worship was in disarray & it’s leaders corrupt.
The priests were neglecting their duties and their responsibility to teach God's laws.
Multiple commentaries described temple worship as “a joke”
Kings and emperors claiming to be the messiah had arisen and passed
The people refused to honor God with their giving.
There is a jewish civil war...
...and their homeland was taken over by the Greek Empire imposing their language, customs, and practices upon God’s people!
As you could imagine, God’s silence was taking a toll on the people! Their faith and trust in God was being tested BUT the silence wasn’t wasted. GOD was getting ready to speak loudly, clearer than ever before, the silence was BUILDING UP for something HUGE...God was about to break the silence!!
Luke 1:5-17
5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
First, some important people are introduced:
Herod - Keep in mind that Herod was “technically Jewish...but neither his religious behavior nor his ethics reflected anything of Judaism.
He is ambitious, ruthless, and incredibly paranoid - especially when it comes to protecting His position of power.
He had all his rivals killed, including those of his wife’s family and even some of his own children.
Zechariah - is a Cohen or priest and it even names His priestly division. Remember this isn’t like today where someone decides to become a priest, you had to BORN into a family line of priests. These men work on a rotating schedule for service in the temple. He is married to...
Elizabeth - She is also from a priestly lineage specifically a descendant of Moses’ brother Aaron.
Let’s see what else it tells us about them. Verse 6:
6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
Luke points out that they were righteous and observant of the law which tells us that they were:
NOT among those who neglected their temple duties OR
participants in the corruption of the religious leaders.
It also speaks to the fact that, while they were unable to have children, it wasn’t due to any kind of sin which was a prevalent idea during that time.
She was barren by God’s own choosing to be, in the correct time, BLESSED as the Mother of a miracle
...that isn’t to say Elizabeth and Zechariah didn’t plead with God in prayer for child for years and years without an answer BUT IT IS TO SAY God is always present in sorrow and working in our waiting.
By pointing out Elizibeths “barrenness” Luke associates her with the matriarchs of her history—Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel, Hannah
Elizabeth is a representative for women who show great faith in difficult times AND
She becomes the next in a long line of important women and miraculous births which ultimately culminates in Mary and the birth of the Messiah later in Luke’s narrative.
Verse 8 continues:
8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
Notice that an interesting stage has been set for us as the readers. Together, Zechariah and Elizabeth are a picture of Israel. Just as we have seen in God’s history, THEY become the “faithful remnant” in their wayward generation:
A righteous family of priests sits in contrast to corrupt leaders and dysfunctional temple worship
Zechariah is chosen “by lot” to administer the burning of incense which is a great honor and typically only happened once in a priest’s lifetime.
The presence of “all the assembled worshippers...praying outside” tells us it’s one of two times set aside for daily prayer/worship known as the “perpetual offering” which is meant as a DAILY reminder to the people of their sin and need for a savior.
In God’s gracious nature, He chooses an important family, during an important moment of the day, and in an important moment of Zechariah’s career, to break the 400 YEARS OF SILENCE...God sends a messenger!
Verse 11 says...
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.
The first message given to humanity after 400 years of silence is as personal and as universally important as you can possibly get. Speaking into the:
Intimate desires of this faithful family and their struggle to get pregnant...after a lifetime of prayers that God to give them an heir as well as...
Giving birth to a man appointed for communal joy and the specific purpose of Preparing the way for the Messiah to come to earth!
Verse 15 continues, saying...
...He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
That should sound very familiar because it is exactly what Malachi prophesied at the end of the Old Testament.
The introduction of John - who comes to be known as John the Baptizer or John the Baptist - is the answer to the Lord’s silence for so many years. It was like a 400 year old Hail Mary pass but Luke catches the ball and begins running with it! The SILENCE IS FINALLY BROKEN!!
God, through Luke, picks up right where he left off without skipping a beat. Though John is NOT Elijah, he walks the same spirit, power, and ministry of Elijah to prepare a way for the Lord!
This is another connection to the Malachi prophesy saying:
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.”
The stipulations given indicate that, like Samson, John is uniquely dedicated to the Lord with something like a Nazerite vow - abstaining from alcohol - and being filled WITH THE SPIRIT in the womb! God is on the move again.
In this moment, THE SILENCE IS FINALLY BROKEN...It was just the calm before the storm because GOD IS SPEAKING AGAIN and HE HAS BEEN WORKING IN IT!
Through this, HOPE is revitalized in two ways:
God has a plan to direct the affairs of humanity and restore his relationship to it,
God addresses the real disappointment in the lives of righteous people. As the servants of God had lived with the reality and frustration of being childless.”
Sometimes silence or in-action isn’t bad but a time of preparation.
It’s a crescendo into some grand chorus.
It’s an INDICATOR that God is getting ready to break in
and the proper response is that
you just need to hold on.
you need to hear the story of God and re-energize your hope in Him.
Sometimes you start to think crazy wayward thoughts in the quiet...I was one of those latchkey kids of the 90’s. One day, I was in our apartment after getting off the bus but before mom got home. It was quiet in the living room so I started to watch TV...probably “Saved by the Bell” - after a few mins I started to fall asleep when I heard the door knob wiggle just a little bit.
I thought it was mom but nobody opened the door. I turned off the TV to listen closer.
Looking out the peep hole!
Looking out the window
Just hearing things I guess
Then I think “what if it’s a burglar?”
Where is mom? She’s running a little late. What if something happened to mom?
Just then, MOM OPENS the door with a handful of groceries cause she stopped by the store on the way home and she’s like “what are you doing, help me with these...what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
You know I played it cool! “Yeah, yeah, I’m good I was just thinking about getting a snack...maybe a cup-o-noodle...a tasty, nutritious cup-o-noodle.”
Listen, when God says something, the silence can get you off track...thinking all kinds of crazy things and cultivating doubt!
don’t let the silence in between, the word spoken and the fulfillment of it throw you off course.
Don’t fall asleep on God but sit up, be alert, and cultivate a “Holy Expectation” that He will do what He says
The don’t let the enemy play tricks on you!
Though God may make you wait, His character is that of a person who is always true to His word and, if He says it, He means that!!
So, REST in His character and BELIEVE what He says!
Cultivate faith during that time and ask yourself, what is God building right now? Where is He creating opportunities for growth and stronger faith? How can I come into alignment with that growth that will create a Joyful Anticipation of the fulfillment of what He has spoken.
God’s people waited 400 Years and payoff was greater than anyone could have imagined!
Over the next 4 weeks of Advent, we are going to look at the various ways God uses silence in the story of Jesus’ earthly arrival.
Many of the typical things we desire to do and traditions we typically use to celebrate, may not be possible and, while it may be difficult, nothing about our God has changed. It is still possible that God is stripping some things away from us so that we focus on the most important things - the quiet is never wasted with God!
As a church, let’s be a faithful community, supporting each other, reaching out to those who have less, and waiting as the silence builds up and prepares us to celebrate the birth of Christ.
COMMISSIONING:
As Jesus said in John 20:21,
"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
Go, be the Church!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.