Christmas comes to the Wilderness
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Pastor Dale Lloyd - December 2, 2012
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 40:1 – 5
Isa.40:3 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way
through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the
wasteland for our God!” (New Living Bible)
This year I will not be presenting a general
theme for the Advent Series; each
message will have its own particular theme. The theme I have chosen for this
first message is: Christmas
comes to the Wilderness.
Let me begin with a short, crisp, clear and
very intentional statement: Christmas begins with a voice.
And I can assure you it is not a passive voice – the voice of ‘carollers out in
the snow’ as the Christmas song puts it. It is not the voice of children
straining to reach those high notes in Christmas pageants. Based on a variety of
translations of this Isaiah text it
is: a
voice calling out, a voice
crying out, a voice shouting out, a voice ringing
out, and a
voice of thunder. This does not mean it’s a voice of
panic; but it does mean it is a voice
of urgency. In fact based upon the structure of the original language of the
text I can tell for sure and certain the voice is filled with emotion –a voice
laden with passion. I think of it as a voice pregnant
with a vital announcement; a history making and history altering declaration; it
is a voice absolutely bursting with vital news. And beyond that it is a voice of profound conviction and
authority. So let us kick off this 2012 Advent Series with this simple,
uncluttered and very beautiful truth: Christmas begins with a
voice.
At the head of this service I read the
angelic birth announcement, plus the birth, plus the beginning of the ministry
of John the Baptist. I did so
because John the Baptist was the one
in whom the Isaiahprophecy was
fulfilled. All four gospel writers confirm this fact. Here is John’s record of
it: Jn.1:
19
This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites
from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed and did not deny,
but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “What then? Are you
Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he
answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an
answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am
A voice of one crying in the
wilderness, ‘Makestraight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Now that we have established the identity of
the voice I want to return to Isaiah’s
prophecy to gain an understanding of the promise of Christmas. What
is the promise Christmas brings to us?
We need to understand that Isaiah’s
prophecy was first addressed to the Hebrews that would be taken into Babylonian
captivity as part of God’s redemptive discipline. The promise was that there
would be restoration; there would be a homecoming. This tells us that God is
always redemptive in His dealings with His people. Yes, He will discipline and
discipline severely but that discipline is always about redemption and
restoration.
The second and far more important application
of this Isaiah prophecy reached
forward to the Advent of Christ,
meaning that the ultimate and final fulfilment of the prophecy is in Christ and
Christ alone.
I opened this message with the statement that
Christmas begins with a voice. I
invite you to consider three questions regarding that voice: What is its source? Where does it speak? What does it
speak?
If you bring Isaiah’s
prophecy and the story of John the
Baptist together you soon enough discover that the voice that speaks is not
John. He is merely the instrument
through which the voice speaks. This is not simply a technicality; it is a vital
truth. If Johnwas the source of the
voice then equally he may also be the source of the message the voice is
speaking. No disrespect regarding John
the Baptist, but I need something much more authoritative to build my faith,
my hope and my life upon than just the voice and the message of a
man.
Ultimately the voice speaking is God himself
and the message the voice is speaking is the message of God himself. Man – both
Isaiah and John – were simply the human instrumentality through which the voice
and message of God were delivered. Here is the grand and glorious news:
Christmas is coming to the wilderness and the guarantee is
not the voice and word of a man – the guarantee is God
himself.
The second question: Where did the voice speak?
LK.1:80...And the child continued to
grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts (wilderness)
until the day of his public appearance to
Israel.
This is about the only reference we have
to John’s childhood and all it tells us is that he grew up in the wilderness.
But evidently he did not only grow up in the wilderness it was also the setting
of his ministry. Listen to the words of Christ recorded in Matt.11:7....Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John,
“What did you go out into the
wilderness to see...” In addition to this we have the testimony of John himself:
“I
am Avoice of one crying in
the wilderness…”
On this first Sunday of Advent
I have no intention of debating “wilderness theology.” What I do know –
based on the scripture, church history, the biographies of Christian leaders and
my own experience – is that there is a wilderness reality. And even when we are
not experiencing a particular personal wilderness it still remains that culturally, ethically, socially, morally,
spiritually, educationally, and in terms of governmental policy and law we
are living out our faith in wilderness surroundings. In addition I do
understand that some among us today are dealing with some rather heavy
wilderness realities.
Here is the good news – and it is not good
news based upon a feeling or some artificial religious self-effort to generate a
“charismatic grin.” Weather we can muster a grin or not and regardless of where
our feelings and emotions may be – this remains unaltered, unchanged:God
has a voice and there is not a wilderness anywhere in this entire universe that
is broad enough, deep enough, bad enough, barren enough, or dry enough that his
voice cannot penetrate. God still speaks in the wilderness. Christmas comes to
the wilderness with the voice of this Almighty God.
And what is this voice saying; what is its
message? According to the Isaiah
prophecy the Lord himself is coming to the wilderness. This story is not at
all like the story of the Oz. In that story Dorothy and her pathetic companions
were called upon to make a twisted and bizarre journey into a strange realm of
mystery in hopes of finding the answer to their needs. God did not wait for
humanity to make some magical journey into His presence.
First of all man was totally incapable of
making such a journey. It was absolutely beyond him. We simply did not know how
to get from our wilderness to where He was. So God came to where we are; right
into our wilderness, right into our hopelessand pathetic state.
With the announcement of His coming and then
with His actual arrival something incredible happens. Isaiah painted the
picture: every
valley is exalted, every mountain and hill is brought low, every crooked place
is made straight and every rugged place is flattened into a plain. In other words when Christmas
comes to wilderness that
wilderness cannot resist the transforming power of the arrival of
the
Christ. That is the promise that is present in the
voice that is crying out in your wilderness
today.
Take note of the prophetic picture; ‘every
valley exalted and every mountain brought low’ – what is the picture
pointing to? What is the meaning of a world without valleys and mountains? Here
this clearly! Here this deeply! It is
a world free of inequalities; a world where everyone is understood and treated
as equals. All of those silly and artificial
criteria that divide us into categories of identity are swept away and the
single identity that emerges and matters is the identity of the Christ
of Christmas who appears in our wilderness. Suddenly all
that matters is that we are in Him –
we are all one in Him – and in Him no one is greater or lesser; a
reality without inequalities.
And finally, Isaiah sets in two profound
realities regarding this wilderness
transformation. He tells us that a highway shall be there,
but a highway unlike any other highway. This is the highway of God himself.
Highway speaks of journey. Highway
also speaks of destination. And
this highway runs right through our transformed wilderness. And secondly
he tells us ‘the
glory of the Lord will be revealed.’
When this Christ of Christmas appeared in this
wilderness the glory of God was revealed. In fact Christ was the personification
of the glory of the invisible God. The prophetic picture makes it clear that the
manifestation of this glory is related to the transformation of the wilderness.
In other words to the extent that my personal wilderness has been transformed by
the presence of Christ – to that same extent the glory of God is
manifested.
Good news –incredible news, profound news this first Sunday of Advent 2012:
Christmas has come to our
wilderness.
Pastor Dale Lloyd - December 2, 2012
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 40:1 – 5
Isa.40:3 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way
through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the
wasteland for our God!” (New Living Bible)
This year I will not be presenting a general
theme for the Advent Series; each
message will have its own particular theme. The theme I have chosen for this
first message is: Christmas
comes to the Wilderness.
Let me begin with a short, crisp, clear and
very intentional statement: Christmas begins with a voice.
And I can assure you it is not a passive voice – the voice of ‘carollers out in
the snow’ as the Christmas song puts it. It is not the voice of children
straining to reach those high notes in Christmas pageants. Based on a variety of
translations of this Isaiah text it
is: a
voice calling out, a voice
crying out, a voice shouting out, a voice ringing
out, and a
voice of thunder. This does not mean it’s a voice of
panic; but it does mean it is a voice
of urgency. In fact based upon the structure of the original language of the
text I can tell for sure and certain the voice is filled with emotion –a voice
laden with passion. I think of it as a voice pregnant
with a vital announcement; a history making and history altering declaration; it
is a voice absolutely bursting with vital news. And beyond that it is a voice of profound conviction and
authority. So let us kick off this 2012 Advent Series with this simple,
uncluttered and very beautiful truth: Christmas begins with a
voice.
At the head of this service I read the
angelic birth announcement, plus the birth, plus the beginning of the ministry
of John the Baptist. I did so
because John the Baptist was the one
in whom the Isaiahprophecy was
fulfilled. All four gospel writers confirm this fact. Here is John’s record of
it: Jn.1:
19
This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites
from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed and did not deny,
but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “What then? Are you
Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he
answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an
answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am
A voice of one crying in the
wilderness, ‘Makestraight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Now that we have established the identity of
the voice I want to return to Isaiah’s
prophecy to gain an understanding of the promise of Christmas. What
is the promise Christmas brings to us?
We need to understand that Isaiah’s
prophecy was first addressed to the Hebrews that would be taken into Babylonian
captivity as part of God’s redemptive discipline. The promise was that there
would be restoration; there would be a homecoming. This tells us that God is
always redemptive in His dealings with His people. Yes, He will discipline and
discipline severely but that discipline is always about redemption and
restoration.
The second and far more important application
of this Isaiah prophecy reached
forward to the Advent of Christ,
meaning that the ultimate and final fulfilment of the prophecy is in Christ and
Christ alone.
I opened this message with the statement that
Christmas begins with a voice. I
invite you to consider three questions regarding that voice: What is its source? Where does it speak? What does it
speak?
If you bring Isaiah’s
prophecy and the story of John the
Baptist together you soon enough discover that the voice that speaks is not
John. He is merely the instrument
through which the voice speaks. This is not simply a technicality; it is a vital
truth. If Johnwas the source of the
voice then equally he may also be the source of the message the voice is
speaking. No disrespect regarding John
the Baptist, but I need something much more authoritative to build my faith,
my hope and my life upon than just the voice and the message of a
man.
Ultimately the voice speaking is God himself
and the message the voice is speaking is the message of God himself. Man – both
Isaiah and John – were simply the human instrumentality through which the voice
and message of God were delivered. Here is the grand and glorious news:
Christmas is coming to the wilderness and the guarantee is
not the voice and word of a man – the guarantee is God
himself.
The second question: Where did the voice speak?
LK.1:80...And the child continued to
grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts (wilderness)
until the day of his public appearance to
Israel.
This is about the only reference we have
to John’s childhood and all it tells us is that he grew up in the wilderness.
But evidently he did not only grow up in the wilderness it was also the setting
of his ministry. Listen to the words of Christ recorded in Matt.11:7....Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John,
“What did you go out into the
wilderness to see...” In addition to this we have the testimony of John himself:
“I
am Avoice of one crying in
the wilderness…”
On this first Sunday of Advent
I have no intention of debating “wilderness theology.” What I do know –
based on the scripture, church history, the biographies of Christian leaders and
my own experience – is that there is a wilderness reality. And even when we are
not experiencing a particular personal wilderness it still remains that culturally, ethically, socially, morally,
spiritually, educationally, and in terms of governmental policy and law we
are living out our faith in wilderness surroundings. In addition I do
understand that some among us today are dealing with some rather heavy
wilderness realities.
Here is the good news – and it is not good
news based upon a feeling or some artificial religious self-effort to generate a
“charismatic grin.” Weather we can muster a grin or not and regardless of where
our feelings and emotions may be – this remains unaltered, unchanged:God
has a voice and there is not a wilderness anywhere in this entire universe that
is broad enough, deep enough, bad enough, barren enough, or dry enough that his
voice cannot penetrate. God still speaks in the wilderness. Christmas comes to
the wilderness with the voice of this Almighty God.
And what is this voice saying; what is its
message? According to the Isaiah
prophecy the Lord himself is coming to the wilderness. This story is not at
all like the story of the Oz. In that story Dorothy and her pathetic companions
were called upon to make a twisted and bizarre journey into a strange realm of
mystery in hopes of finding the answer to their needs. God did not wait for
humanity to make some magical journey into His presence.
First of all man was totally incapable of
making such a journey. It was absolutely beyond him. We simply did not know how
to get from our wilderness to where He was. So God came to where we are; right
into our wilderness, right into our hopelessand pathetic state.
With the announcement of His coming and then
with His actual arrival something incredible happens. Isaiah painted the
picture: every
valley is exalted, every mountain and hill is brought low, every crooked place
is made straight and every rugged place is flattened into a plain. In other words when Christmas
comes to wilderness that
wilderness cannot resist the transforming power of the arrival of
the
Christ. That is the promise that is present in the
voice that is crying out in your wilderness
today.
Take note of the prophetic picture; ‘every
valley exalted and every mountain brought low’ – what is the picture
pointing to? What is the meaning of a world without valleys and mountains? Here
this clearly! Here this deeply! It is
a world free of inequalities; a world where everyone is understood and treated
as equals. All of those silly and artificial
criteria that divide us into categories of identity are swept away and the
single identity that emerges and matters is the identity of the Christ
of Christmas who appears in our wilderness. Suddenly all
that matters is that we are in Him –
we are all one in Him – and in Him no one is greater or lesser; a
reality without inequalities.
And finally, Isaiah sets in two profound
realities regarding this wilderness
transformation. He tells us that a highway shall be there,
but a highway unlike any other highway. This is the highway of God himself.
Highway speaks of journey. Highway
also speaks of destination. And
this highway runs right through our transformed wilderness. And secondly
he tells us ‘the
glory of the Lord will be revealed.’
When this Christ of Christmas appeared in this
wilderness the glory of God was revealed. In fact Christ was the personification
of the glory of the invisible God. The prophetic picture makes it clear that the
manifestation of this glory is related to the transformation of the wilderness.
In other words to the extent that my personal wilderness has been transformed by
the presence of Christ – to that same extent the glory of God is
manifested.
Good news –incredible news, profound news this first Sunday of Advent 2012:
Christmas has come to our
wilderness.