When we hear a word of admonition, we either desire to act or we bury the thought. But if we desire to act, to change, or to create change, we come up against an insurmountable wall of hopelessness and despair. What can i do about the world when I cannot even change myself?

This is my sermon for Sunday, December 16, 2012, just the rough notes and subject to change and reflection … probably full of mistakes. It is in process. It is based upon the lectionary scriptures for the morning.

What should we do then?”  (Luke 3:10)

This is the question
prompted by the “advent” preaching of John at he announced the coming of the
Messiah. People were hungry and expectant. Paul was addressing the believers in
Philippi with some “final” words. They too were living in expectation and in a
world of turmoil,

Philippians
4:4-7:"4
Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.  5 Let your moderation be known unto all men.
The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  7 And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Luke 3:7-18: ⁷ Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of
him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
⁸ Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and
begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say
unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
⁹ And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the
trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down,
and cast into the fire. ¹⁰ And the people asked
him, saying, What shall we do then? ¹¹ He
answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him
that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. ¹² Then
came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?
¹³ And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which
is appointed you. ¹⁴ And the soldiers likewise
demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence
to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. ¹⁵ And
as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John,
whether he were the Christ, or not;

¹⁶ John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with
water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not
worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
¹⁷ Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge
his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will
burn with fire unquenchable. ¹⁸ And many other
things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.” –

• We should REJOICE. That may seem scandalous in such a troubled,
  sick, and dark world where little
  children and their teachers die for no good reason.  As we have read this morning,

 “Surely God is my salvation; I will
trust, and will not be afraid, for the LORD  With joy you will draw water from the wells of
salvation. And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the LORD, call on his
name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is
exalted. Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be
known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great
in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” – Isaiah 12:2-6
(NIV)

1. Rejoice with
   GENEROSITY (Notice he says it twice). We may have to work at it. He gives it
   generously. Let us receive it in abundance.
2. Rejoice
   with GENTLENESS. Let’s become known as gentle people. It is so tempting to be
   harsh and judgmental. But the world is fragile sometimes and people need a soft
   touch. Even in our rejoicing, let us not be loud, obnoxious, intrusive, and
   insensitive.

• We should RELEASE some things.

1. ANXIETY and
   cares. In every situation, we release everything in prayer and petition,
   presenting it all to God.
2. ANY sense
   of entitlement.  Thanksgiving
   acknowledges that what we have is a gift and gifts do not come to us because we
   deserve them.

• We should RECEIVE peace.

1. It TRANSCENDS
   understanding. We can be at peace when it makes no sense to be at peace to
   ourselves or to others. Our circumstances add up to trouble. Our lives multiply
   into shalom.
2.  It TRANSFORMS us by guarding our hearts and
   minds. We don’t need to have our peace protected by anything else than the very
   shalom of God itself. It stands century over our souls so that we can sing, “It
   is well with my soul.”  As we read in our
   lessons this morning,

 “Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The LORD has taken
away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of
Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.  On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do
not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. The LORD, your God, is in
your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with
gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud
singing as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you
will not bear reproach for it. I will deal with all your oppressors at that
time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their
shame into praise and renown in all the earth. 
At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I
will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I
restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the LORD. – Zephaniah 3:14-20
(NIV)

• We should REPRODUCE fruit according to John. The kind of fruit
  depends on two factors:

1.  
   1. SITUATION
      – What are the specific challenges in your life where you need to apply repentance
      and produce fruits of righteousness?
   2. STEWARDSHIP
      – How do you handle the influence and authority you have? Are you taking unfair
      advantage of people? Are you cheating or stealing? Are you being oppressive in
      any way? John says, “Stop!”

• We should REPENT – John says that the only way to produce fruit is
  through genuine repentance, not fake religion. 
  But he suggests that the best he can do is registering their intentions
  and encourage them to do better. One is coming after him, with the Spirit and
  fire. They need to be immersed in that Spirit and purified by His fire in order
  to implement their intentions. The expectation and hope is that One will come
  who can truly change us from the heart and give us the wherewithal to live a
  new and righteous life.

As the
people waited expectantly,  John said
that all he had was water. What they needed was Spirit and that is what the
Messiah would bring. John and Paul gave us a list of “should”s. Think of all
the things in the world we should do if we could do them. But we fail. John
says, “You need the Spirit. You need the Christ.”

1. He comes
   to BAPTIZE – but not with water or anything material. With Spirit we shall be baptized-
   cleansed and buried with hope of new life. Paul says that we are buried with
   Christ in baptism unto death so that we can be raised with Him to walk in
   newness of life. In that washing/burial, sins are forgiven, hearts are
   cleansed, and we are made holy before God.
2. He comes
   to BURN -With Fire we shall be baptized – and all the junk will be consumed.  We shall be set free from the dross in our
   lives. It is a purifying flame and sometimes is a painful, but it is a
   necessary process to get rid of all in our lives that is not fit for Kingdom
   living.  John and Paul both list some of
   the dross in our lives that needs to go.

It is a world of worry, a world of anxiety, a
world of despair into which the Advent candle shines with waiting expectancy
and hope that there is One who can bring the Spirit and baptize us in the
Spirit and fire. There is much we should do, would do, and could do and much we
cannot seem to be able to find the strength, will, and wisdom to do and these
things ought to be done. The gospel is and always will be “good news” and that
is what both John and Paul preached. That is what Jesus brought by His own
presence, good news, the good news that repentance is possible in the Spirit.
It is the good news that liberates us to rejoice in the midst of turmoil,
release the things that bind us, and receive the peace that passes all
understanding.

Again, when we hear a word of admonition, we either desire to act or we bury
the thought. But if we desire to act, to change, or to create change, we
come up against an insurmountable wall of hopelessness and despair.
What can i do about the world when I cannot even change myself?

The Presence of Jesus answers that question once and for all. His baptism enables the change for which we long. Come to Jesus and find that hope, light the candle, and live in the Light.