Looking Forward to the Light

[00:00:02] And will you pray with me, Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Father's son who won the victory in the flesh. [00:00:12] By your mighty power, make whole all our ills of flesh and soul. [00:00:18] Amen. [00:00:22] Well, it was a bit cold this morning, wasn't it? [00:00:27] Thankfully. Not too much to scrape on the car, you know, that's the worst. Yeah, you real. Well, I never think of it ahead of time, you know, Then I get out there and I'm already feeling like I'm gonna be late. Probably am gonna be late. And. And then I have to scrape. And of course, I didn't bring a warm enough coat. And. [00:00:47] And because I wasn't expecting to be out of the car that long. And. And then, you know, it's cold. [00:00:54] Cold hurts, it's uncomfortable. [00:00:57] Gotta put something more on. And that's what I should really do is just bring warmer clothes everywhere. [00:01:05] You know, Adam and Eve weren't cold in the garden. They weren't. In fact, they were naked and they were happy. They didn't need clothes. [00:01:15] It must have been a very nice climate, like, just perfect. [00:01:20] Like the pool. When I lived in Texas, when we lived in Texas for a year, you know, it was so warm during the day. At night, it just felt like nothing. It just. You just felt like you needed nothing. And then the pool in the apartment complex where we lived in, you'd step in and it felt no different than the air, you know, it's just like. Everything's just the same, everything's comfortable. [00:01:45] It's on a morning like this that you think, boy, wouldn't it be nice to have some warmth? But you can just put something on and then it's basically the same thing. Or come in. We're thankful for the warmth that we have here. [00:01:59] There was one time that I think this is a fitting story for Advent. Okay, so one time I was cold, was up in the mountains with siblings, and we were hiking a 14er. This was probably in high school or college, and I can't even tell you which one. I think it was Belford and Oxford, but I can't remember which one is. Which one comes first. I don't know. [00:02:33] So with most of these hikes, you start out in the woods, you know, lower down, maybe 10, 11, 12,000ft. [00:02:43] And we hiked through the forest for quite a while and it was dark because you have to start early. [00:02:53] I can't remember which shoulder of summer it was, if it was in June or in August. But it was cold and dark and we were a little miserable. We hadn't brought I hadn't brought warm clothes. There I was, wishing I'd brought a coat. [00:03:08] But I knew that once I got up high enough and once it got late enough in the day, I was going to be just fine. It was going to warm up. [00:03:16] But those hours, probably in the dark in the forest, were pretty miserable. [00:03:27] Plus, I think I wasn't feeling well. [00:03:29] Then we got out of the woods finally. You know, it's like, okay, we're above tree line, and I could see the ridge that we had to get over to be in the sun. Like, there it was. [00:03:41] The edge of the ridge was shining with light. And you know, in Colorado, what that means. And as soon as you get over that ridge, you're penetrated by the warmth and you're just, you know, everything's going to be fine. [00:03:54] But until then, you're going to be really cold. [00:03:58] It was so cold. We were still in the shadow of the mountain and just looking forward to getting to the light. And of course, it took longer to get to the light than we wanted or thought. [00:04:11] But I want to freeze that moment. Freeze that moment, you know, Freeze that moment. [00:04:20] You can see the light, you know it's going to warm you. But there you are in the cold. [00:04:28] You know, when Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden, when God said, well, so long, you got to go, and I'm going to guard the entrance, right? And, well, he gave him clothes. [00:04:44] Think of them. It's like they were in the light, they were in the warmth, and he sent them down into the cold and he gave him clothes for it. [00:04:56] Also thistles. [00:04:59] You're going to have thorns and thistles and unpleasant things that you're going to have to protect yourselves with clothes from the cold. [00:05:09] The dangers of the world. You need protection now. [00:05:13] It's kind of like a reversal of that. Here we are climbing up the mountain, hoping for the light and. And the warmth. And for them, it was packing up and heading out into the cold. [00:05:26] And that's where we find ourselves now, really in the cold, in need of defense. [00:05:33] Right. [00:05:36] We heard in Isaiah this morning that one day we'll beat our swords into plowshares. [00:05:45] No need for war anymore. We'll just have agriculture. [00:05:51] That's not where we are now, is it? [00:05:54] Still, we're defending ourselves against one another on a large scale and on a small scale, if you've ever had an argument with a loved one or strife interpersonally, we. [00:06:12] We have our guard up and we can feel attacked and like we need to attack back or defend ourselves or our Reputation comes under fire, or we're afraid of that and feel like we got to put up our defenses, and we're in a world full of strife and the fear of strife and the need to prepare to protect ourselves and put on all kinds of armor and warm clothing. [00:06:49] When the cold, chill breeze of suffering comes or of worries come with. What do you cover yourself? [00:07:02] What do you put on when the cold comes? [00:07:07] Like, when your reputation's under fire or when it seems like things aren't going well, or you start to experience pain, or when you lose your hope, your health goes downhill, or like, whatever it is, what's the warm clothing that you put on when stress is eating at you? [00:07:33] What cheers you? [00:07:36] What defends you? We heard some of the commandments in the epistle reading, right? Like, you shall not steal. Like, you know, stealing comes in many forms, you know, but it can feel like that warm blanket that you need just kind of, I don't know, move things around in your taxes or whatever. I don't know what. You know, there are lots of ways that that could work, but just getting a little bit more could be like just pulling the blanket around a little tighter to keep out the concern. Pastor Woodward's tapping his watch here. I feel like it's kind of early for that, isn't it? Like, I haven't gone that long. [00:08:23] Just kidding. Must be one of those smart things. Yeah. [00:08:27] Oh, turning off an alarm or something like that. [00:08:31] Okay. I'm good. All right. [00:08:36] What do you do when you feel like people just want your sermon to be over? You know, It's getting chilly in here. [00:08:49] Just kidding. [00:08:54] All these, like, you can think of any kind of sin like that. It's like the provision that we make for the time, the time when we're in need or when things aren't going well, or when we think we need protection, like just a little more money or. Or a little pleasure to make ourselves happy for a moment, or to make the pain go away, or to forget about the stress for a bit or, you know, in the epistle reading, we are encouraged. [00:09:37] The night is far gone. The day is at hand, the days at hand. The warmth and the light are here. So then let us cast off the works of darkness. [00:09:52] Notice, cast off. That's like a taking clothing off image. [00:09:57] All right? [00:09:59] Cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. [00:10:06] Now, what is that armor of light? It goes on to say, put on the Lord Jesus Christ. [00:10:12] See, those are the same. [00:10:15] So the night is far gone, the day is at hand. So then Let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime. Not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. [00:10:33] See there you get like sort of the improper warm blankets and also the like. Lay down your weapons with quarreling and jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. [00:10:54] Now, you know, when I'm hiking up a mountain and freezing cold, don't take. Tell me not to make provisions for the flesh, right? It's like I'm cold. I need it. [00:11:09] But here's the key. It's like things are changing. It's not like that. [00:11:13] The sun's come up. [00:11:16] The night is far gone. The day is at hand. [00:11:19] Cast off the works of darkness. [00:11:23] You don't need it anymore. [00:11:26] You don't need the clothing. [00:11:29] Think of this like a return to the garden. [00:11:32] Right there in the garden, there was no need of anything and no need of coverings. No need of protection. [00:11:39] Just innocence. [00:11:42] Why? God was their covering. He was their protection. [00:11:47] He is your protection. [00:11:50] He is your covering. [00:11:54] You can just confide in him. You can trust in him. [00:11:59] Jesus Christ has come. [00:12:01] And you know, John the Baptist in his song says, the dawn from on high shall break upon us. [00:12:08] Think of that like warmth and light and also strength. The dawn from on high. [00:12:16] Also in a couple of readings and in the Psalm and the Old Testament reading, it's like climbing a mountain. [00:12:23] And at the top is Jerusalem, Zion. [00:12:27] We're on pilgrimage to Zion, but getting there is about. It's about light. It's about coming out of the valley and the darkness, the shadow of death. [00:12:37] Also from Zechariah's song. [00:12:42] It's about coming out of the darkness and into the light. And this is something that, that God accomplishes for us through Jesus Christ, who comes as the light of the world. You know, in Advent here we're headed toward Christmas, and it's getting darker and darker, colder and colder. [00:13:00] But then at the darkest point, roughly of winter, the light comes. [00:13:08] The light who enlightens everyone was coming into the world. [00:13:14] John says, the light comes and brings warmth and light. And in Jesus Christ, we need no other defense. [00:13:25] With the armor of light, we don't need something to get us through. [00:13:33] Jesus Christ is all of that for us. [00:13:39] He brings peace. [00:13:41] He brings paradise. [00:13:44] The garden restored for us. [00:13:50] So wake up. [00:13:53] You know the time that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. [00:13:58] It's like getting out of bed in the morning. [00:14:02] Some of you probably get up just. [00:14:04] I know some of you say that 3 o' clock every morning you're up, or 5 o' clock, you're just up, up and at them. [00:14:13] But my boys and I have a harder time than that. [00:14:18] It's like you don't just snap awake. Well, sometimes my boys surprise me, actually, and they just hop out of bed. [00:14:30] Think of that feeling like, well, but I just want to stay warm then. Have you ever had a dream that got you excited about the day or made you feel purposeful and you wake up and you don't want sleep at all? [00:14:48] Just let me get at it. You just hop up and you feel great about. Maybe this is just an unusual experience for me and so it sticks. But you have to imagine, but you just hop out of bed. Day has come and with it purpose in Jesus Christ. Jesus, who came and experienced all the cold and the pain, torment on the cross and came through it. [00:15:15] He came through it hoping in God. [00:15:19] He put his hope in God and was not disappointed. He rose from the dead. [00:15:24] He's God in the flesh. [00:15:26] It's complicated there. [00:15:28] He was perfectly set up to do it as the very Son of God come for us. But that's why he came to win. [00:15:35] He couldn't lose, he couldn't stay dead. [00:15:38] He rose from the dead and he is the source of life and warmth, of joy and peace, of security, all those things. And he's come to you and is coming. [00:15:54] So this Advent season, think of it like a journey up the mountain, a journey that you've been called to by Jesus Christ as he reveals his light and warmth to you, as he reveals true joy and peace. [00:16:12] And heed Paul's call to wake from sleep, to look to the hope that we have in Jesus and his presence and his coming. [00:16:30] And wake up. Day is at hand. Night is far gone. Cast off the works of darkness. Put on the armor of light. [00:16:37] Jesus Christ. [00:16:39] Prepare for his coming. [00:16:43] We don't need any of that, whatever that is. Fill in the blank. [00:16:48] Consider what is it for you? What is it for me? [00:16:52] Cast it off and take refuge in Jesus Christ in his name. Amen.