He Is Coming

December 12, 2010

Over the next few weeks we will be looking at the importance of the coming of Jesus. We start today with a sermon linking us to the past, before the coming of Jesus, and the message that the Messiah (promised one) is coming. The idea of promise and promises are something that we know about today.

How are you with patience? Do you wait well? Is this an area where you have room for improvement? There is something about a promise; it has something special to it.

A promise is an announcement that the only thing from keeping something from happening is time. The right time has not come, things may not be in order and time is needed to make things right.

There is something that changes within a person when they have been promised something. You can almost see the anticipation on their face. They just can not wait for the good thing to come true.

Just think of the look on the face of a woman who has been engaged. The look of a pregnant lady and her husband, waiting for things to change. A promise has been made and the anticipation, and planning begins, or the look on the face of a child when a parent promises a special trip or time together like going fishing with my dad when we were younger.

It is a truth that a promise changes things because a promise is the first major stage of commitment. Until the promise happens there is doubt about the future. Once a promise is in place the only aspect keeping the reality from coming is time; and time moves us closer to the realization of the promise.

Another thing about promises that we know too well is that not everyone keeps a promise. And we all know the hurt that comes from a broken promise. So much hurt at times, that the trust never is regained and the next promise is taken with reluctance and diminished joy.

This is true because we take promises from people who do not have complete control of things. But when God makes a promise we can be sure of three things.

1. He will not forget.

2. He will follow through.

3. He expects us to trust in him while he adjusts the timing.

What we are talking about today is "The Promise."

By putting the word "The" in front of it I want us to think of the most amazing thing that was ever promised by a God who is known as a promise maker.

God had promised Adam and Eve that if they sinned they would be removed from the garden. He promised Noah that he would not flood the world again. God promised Abraham that he would make him into a great nation and bless him as he became a blessing to others. He promised his people in Egypt that he would deliver them even before they were taken into captivity. God promised Moses that he would be with him and deliver the people through Moses. God has even promised us that He would be with us to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

God even promised to take his people back into captivity if they did not turn their hearts and actions to him. Following that, God promised to deliver his people again, and He promises us that if we are not saved by His grace we will be separated from Him. God is a god of promise! Within all of these other promises THE PROMISE has been revealed in parts over and over.

The promise that we are looking at today is the promise of the Messiah, the Christ, the deliver, the sacrificial lamb, the word, the bread, the life, the door, the vine, it is the promise of God incarnate…God in flesh "Immanuel."

See, none of the rest of this would make any difference if it were not for "The Promise." History begins with the anticipation of His coming, and it will end with His return. He is coming, He has come, and He will come again!

It was not kept a secret but also not fully revealed as to how the promise would come and what his role would be. There are scriptures that pointed to a Kingly Messiah.

Psalms 2:6-8, 68:18, 118:22

Isaiah 9:6-7, 32:1-3, 42:1-4

Jeremiah 23:5

Daniel 2:44, 7:13-14

Micah 5:2

Zechariah 6:12-13, 9:9-10

Malachi 3:1

And there are passages that refer to a suffering Messiah.

Psalms 22:18, 69:21

Isaiah 50:6, 52:14, 53:1-10

Daniel 9:26

Zechariah 11:12, 12:10, 13:7

Along with this are the passages of prophecy and their fulfillment in Jesus Christ ranging from

Jesus being born of a woman who would crush His adversary – Genesis 3:15

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heal."

to being born in Bethlehem – Micah 5:2

"But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times’"

Born of a virgin and being called Immanuel "God with us." – Isaiah 7:14

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin(s) will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." Applied to Jesus in Matthew 1:23.

and through all of these prophecies and fulfillments people were there as witnesses and later they provided testimony.

Now I want you to think of what it would have been like to have been there when The Promise was among them. We know that Jesus had to have been born and we have some detail about the situation around that day but we know that no day was set aside for his birth unlike the day set aside to commemorate his resurrection. Next week we will look at the Matthew and Luke passages about the birth of Jesus as we see the impact of the coming of the Messiah (promise).

Now imagine with me if you would the look on the faces of the people who have been waiting for the promise.

They have heard the scriptures and have looked for signs. They have just been through 400 years of silence from God and a rather strange man starts calling people to readiness as he works in the wilderness and calls people to look for the promise that is coming soon.

Let’s look at these people’s faces when they hear that the promise has come. It has happened! He is here!

I imagine that the faces were much like the faces we see as a girlfriend becomes a fiancée as she opens a box and says: "Yes, I will marry you."

Or like the face on a child when they get the gift they have been looking for.

Or like Abigail and Kyra’s faces when they are truly surprised with a great blessing.

Or like my face, eight years ago, and ten years ago when the promise of a new child was realized with our healthy daughters, Abigail and Kyra.

Or like the kids in the houses that we deliver NeighbourLink hampers to as they see a box of presents that would not have been there without people acting in compassion.

The reason may change but the look is very similar.

I want you to really pay attention to this next sentence: It is special to be there when the promise moves from a promise to a reality. What has been waited for with anticipation is now received with thankfulness. And so I close this sermon today asking you to think of two things:

1. Take some time to think about how your heart and mind felt when you accepted the promise. Think of when you accepted the promise of God’s grace covering your sins. Think of your thankfulness for what Christ did in your life and the joy of a new and sinless life under his care.

2. Take some time to read of the promises that he has in store for you yet. He will never leave us or forsake us, he will continue to mediate for us, and one day he will take us home to a place of no tears or sorrow.

It is a blessing to know that God does not break his promises.

Enjoy the blessing of the promise,

take time to be thankful for Christ in your life,

and share the preciousness of the gift.

Next Week: Friend and Neighbour – Breakfast at 10:15 and then a worship service full of Christmas carols and a sermon about "He Has Come" looking at The Gift and the passages about the birth of Jesus from Matthew and Luke.