SERMON OUTLINE 006--17 DEC 2006

WHO HAS YOUR SIX?

Third Sunday in Advent
FOB PALIWODA
17DEC06

Scripture
Luke 3:7-18

Timeline
Luke 2:21-24 Christ is circumcised. Naming ceremony. Two doves are sacrificed (denoting that His parents were poor.
2:25-35 Simeon prophesizes about Jesus’ life.
2:36-38 Anna prophecies about Christ.
2:39-40 Christ returns to Nazareth.
2:41-50 Jesus lingers at the Temple after the Passover. Christ’s parents, though poor, always attend.
3:1-3 Dating the coming of John.
3:3 John’s ministry and message.
3:4-6 Preparing the way for Christ.
3:7-19 John’s message and arrest.
3:14 Soldiers be content with your wages.

I. Introduction

A. Illustration: soldiers taking a sector at H15. Everyone had a position to take. We are good because we plan, we rehearse, we check down to the nth degree of detail. We also have folks, battle buddies, who watch our backs, our ‘six.’ We never do anything alone. Who watches your six? Does God factor into your answer?

II. Taking God for Granted

A. How long would we be friends with someone who only came to us when we were in trouble? How does God feel when we only come to Him when we are in trouble? How does it make us feel? Every prayer said in desperation becomes a test. Soon disappointment could become resentment could become anger to outright apathy. The greatest problem we have is that we do not teach nor do learn how to have a proper relationship with God.

B. This taking advantage of God is exactly what John is speaking to in his sermon we read in Scripture. He calls the people coming to him a “brood of vipers,” essentially sons of snakes. He then tells them to bear fruit worthy of repentance. John is not saying be perfect, but instead, be different. Illustration: a talisman, like a rabbit’s foot, is an object to which we falsely attribute God’s power. In essence, it is an idol. John the prophet is so upset because the people have reduced God to a non-feeling, non-living idol: if they get baptized, it provides an inoculation against bad things happening to them. The people come because it is fashionable.

C. During the Advent Season, as we prepare for the coming of Christ, we tend to think of Him exclusively as a helpless child coming to the world in a non-threatening way. We forget that the world was threatened by Jesus the child, so much so that Herod executed an entire generation of boys in order to protect himself from the Messiah.

D. Who do the people expect? Who are we expecting this Christmas? Are we expecting another year of the same type of relationship?

E. God has our backs, but a core aspect of faithfulness is that because He has ours, whose do we have?

III. Christians are Fruitful, Not Fruitless

A. Those who claim to follow God must show through their lives that they are following God. Illustration: who is more despised to a soldier but a person who claims battlefield glory and heroics that he did not actually commit. In other words, they tell a story of who they should be, who they wish they would be, in order to get the accolades and approval, but it is a lie.

B. Christians dwell between two poles: faith and service. They are like blades of a scissor; we need both to be effective. St. Augustine, the 3rd Century theologian, said, “No man has a right to lead such a life of contemplation as to forget in his own ease the service due to his neighbor; nor has any man a right to be so immersed in active life as to neglect the contemplation of God.”[1]

C. John is instructing us that we must, like a tree, bear the fruit, the blessings, of being grounded in the Lord, nurtured by the Son, and nourished by the Holy Spirit.

IV. Repentance PT

A. Metanoia: the changing, or repenting, is more than just feeling sorry for yourself because of your sins. It is a complete change of life. “Let us not flee his judgment with sweet platitudes. Let us heed the words of the prophet and bear fruits that befit repentance, giving up our alibis and false hopes and repenting through work that corresponds to God’s advent among us.” William H. Willimon

B. John breaks down the beginnings of a faithful lifestyle:


1. v11 (The Common People): Be content with only what is necessary; share your excess (clothing and food).

2. v13 (The State Employee): Be content with only what is necessary; do not steal from the people; remember your loyalties (to God and to man).

3. v14 (The Soldier): Be content with only what is necessary; do not abuse your position of power (by intimidating others).


C. A Daily Repentance Workout by Frederica Mathewes-Green


As we gradually gain more insight into ourselves, we are able, with God's grace, to find ways to resist habitual sin and grow in self-control. We gain strength bit by bit, like an athlete striving for the prize, as Paul said. Gradually we reclaim more and more of ourselves and offer it to God's transforming light. Thus the Holy Spirit works within us, sanctifying us from the inside out.


From the earliest centuries, Christians have identified certain practices that have been helpful to the "athlete in training." Here are some of them:


• Fasting. People are beset by different temptations, but everybody eats. Restricting foods—not necessarily a total fast, but simply declining favorites for a time—can be a way of strengthening the "willpower muscle" to be ready when needed to handle a bigger temptation. An athlete doesn't lift weights just so he can lift more weights. Those healthy muscles are ready for any situation he meets. Turn down a doughnut today, and tomorrow you might be able to resist calling the driver in front of you an idiot.

• Bite your tongue. Yes, not calling someone an idiot is a frequent theme in Scripture and early Christian writings. Both place great emphasis on controlling anger, perhaps as much as on sexual continence. Jesus said the penalty for calling your brother a fool was "the hell of fire." That includes people who can't hear you, like politicians on TV. It's not the harm to them that's at stake so much as the surging, disorienting pride in your own heart.

• Mind your thoughts. Jesus said that to commit adultery in the imagination is the equivalent of committing it in fact. Nearly all sins begin with thinking about sin. Control the thoughts and you have a good head start on behavior. You may not be able to keep thoughts from appearing, but you can decline to entertain them; birds fly overhead, but you don't have to let them nest in your hair. Paul counsels that we think about things that are true, lovely, gracious, excellent, and praiseworthy, so you might want to read some Dickens tonight instead of watching that sleazy sitcom.

• Practice humility. Humility is not the same as resisting the urge to show off (which is modesty) or denying that you have gifts and talents (which is lying). Humility is remembering that you have a beam in your eye. In every situation remember what God knows about you, and how much you have been forgiven. You might think you can fool people, but no matter how charming you appear, spiritually you have spinach in your teeth. Account yourself the "chief of sinners" and be gracious toward the failings of others. Overlook insults and be kind to those who misuse you. Be swift to admit when you're wrong. Ask others to forgive you, and forgive them without asking if you want God to forgive you.

• Pray constantly. Try always to recall that God is with you, dwelling in you. (This helps a great deal in controlling thoughts.) For more than 1,500 years, some Christians have tried to form the habit of praying, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me" all the time, a kind of background music to other thoughts. It not only helps one resist more turbulent thoughts and deeds, but also creates a kind of mental foyer in which thoughts and impulses can be examined before they're allowed inside.

• Ask God to help you repent. We really don't want to do this and we find a million excuses to change the subject. Read stories about repentant saints, like John Newton, the slave dealer who wrote "Amazing Grace," or the once promiscuous Mary of Egypt. Those are reasonable models for you, not ivory-tower saints. Keep thinking of yourself as the Prodigal Son. Think over your deeds and conversations each evening and look for areas to improve. Read before bed every night. Someday you may actually believe it.[2]

V. Conclusion: Faithfulness is Fruitfulness

A. Why does Metanoia matter? Who has your six?


While working as a journalist for the Chicago Tribune, Lee Strobel was assigned to report on the struggles of an impoverished, inner-city family during the weeks leading up to Christmas. A devout atheist at the time, Strobel was mildly surprised by the family's attitude in spite of their circumstances:


The Delgados—-60-year-old Perfecta and her granddaughters, Lydia and Jenny—-had been burned out of their roach-infested tenement and were now living in a tiny, two-room apartment on the West Side. As I walked in, I couldn't believe how empty it was. There was no furniture, no rugs, nothing on the walls—-only a small kitchen table and one handful of rice. That's it. They were virtually devoid of possessions.


In fact, 11-year-old Lydia and 13-year-old Jenny owned only one short-sleeved dress each, plus one thin, gray sweater between them. When they walked the half-mile to school through the biting cold, Lydia would wear the sweater for part of the distance and then hand it to her shivering sister, who would wear it the rest of the way.


But despite their poverty and the painful arthritis that kept Perfecta from working, she still talked confidently about her faith in Jesus. She was convinced he had not abandoned them. I never sensed despair or self-pity in her home; instead, there was a gentle feeling of hope and peace.




Strobel completed his article, and then moved on to more high-profile assignments. But when Christmas Eve arrived, he found his thoughts drifting back to the Delgados and their unflinching belief in God's providence. In his words:


I continued to wrestle with the irony of the situation. Here was a family that had nothing but faith, and yet seemed happy, while I had everything I needed materially, but lacked faith—-and inside I felt as empty and barren as their apartment.




In the middle of a slow news day, Strobel decided to pay a visit to the Delgados. When he arrived, he was amazed at what he saw. Readers of his article had responded to the family's need in overwhelming fashion, filling the small apartment with donations. Once inside, Strobel encountered new furniture, appliances, and rugs; a large Christmas tree and stacks of wrapped presents; bags of food; and a large selection of warm winter clothing. Readers had even donated a generous amount of cash.


But it wasn't the gifts that shocked Lee Strobel, an atheist in the middle of Christmas generosity. It was the family's response to those gifts. In his words:


As surprised as I was by this outpouring, I was even more astonished by what my visit was interrupting: Perfecta and her granddaughters were getting ready to give away much of their newfound wealth. When I asked Perfecta why, she replied in halting English: "Our neighbors are still in need. We cannot have plenty while they have nothing. This is what Jesus would want us to do."


That blew me away! If I had been in their position at that time in my life, I would have been hoarding everything. I asked Perfecta what she thought about the generosity of the people who had sent all of these goodies, and again her response amazed me. "This is wonderful; this is very good," she said, gesturing toward the largess. "We did nothing to deserve this—it's a gift from God. But," she added, "It is not his greatest gift. No, we celebrate that tomorrow. That is Jesus."


To her, this child in the manger was the undeserved gift that meant everything—more than material possessions, more than comfort, more than security. And at that moment, something inside of me wanted desperately to know this Jesus—because, in a sense, I saw him in Perfecta and her granddaughters.


They had peace despite poverty, while I had anxiety despite plenty; they knew the joy of generosity, while I only knew the loneliness of ambition; they looked heavenward for hope, while I only looked out for myself; they experienced the wonder of the spiritual, while I was shackled to the shallowness of the material—and something made me long for what they had.


Or, more accurately, for the One they knew.[3]




B. This year, this time, this life, let us bear fruits worthy of repentance, of a life changed not for our sakes, but for His. For it is only by doing this, by sacrificing our life, by losing it to Him, that he can reach a harvest of people through our acts of faithfulness.

[1]Augustine of Hippo, Of the Dress and Habits of the Christian (Chapter 19), ccel.org.

[2]Copyright ©2002 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

[3]Lee Strobel, The Case for Christmas (Zondervan, 2005); submitted by Eugene Maddox, Palatka, Florida.