Anticipating Christmas. (395)

Anticipation

Isaiah 2:1-5

1 The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
3 And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples;
And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.

5 Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

The peace in the last days is anticipatefd after times of turmoil.

• A foreshadowing of a coming Messiah.
• An echo of the peace promised in Bethlehem.

Many people are affected, not only the nation of Israel.

• A prelude to all the people blessed by Christ’s birth (Luke 2:10; Matthew 24:36-44)

Luke 2:10

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid;
for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

Matthew 24:36-44

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
37 “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
38 “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away;
so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
40 “Then there will be two men in the field;
one will be taken and one will be left.
41 “Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken and one will be left.

42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
43 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
44 “For this reason you also must be ready;
for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

Be prepared.

• A baby is anticipated, yet arrives unexpectedly
Anticipating his second coming, don’t be caught up in the bustle of daily activity
don’t miss the urgent summons of his second coming.

Spiritual watchfulness should govern our Advent worship, and a constant readiness should characterize our anticipation of his returning.

Romans 13:11-14

11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep;
for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.
12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near.
Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Anticipate the second coming of Christ.

• Be awake and ready to do spiritual battle.
• Be clothe with Jesus Christ and walk in the light,
• continue to battle the powers of darkness.

Advent should be a time of both joyful anticipation and sober watchfulness.

Confess that Christ has brought peace to the world.

Need some mood music? The following links go to selections on YouTube.

Christmas Hymn:

Christian, Dost Thou See Them

Christ Is the World’s True Light

Deck Thyself, My Soul, with Gladness

Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding

The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns