It’s the third Sunday of Advent: light a candle for Joy! The ultimate joy that comes from lives turned around and the good news of Jesus, as David Fowler spoke about in today’s message.

Mark your calendars for lots of Christmas activities coming up:

• Tuesday December 14 5:30 to 7 pm: Food Pantry is open, plus a hot meal to-go prepared by the “Soup Sisters” plus friends from the Riverdale Ward will be singing Christmas Carols on the front porch.
• Wednesdays: no Bible Study for the rest of December
• Thursday December 16 1:30 pm: Visting Aspen Care to sing Christmas Carols
• Saturday December 18 11 am: Women’s Christmas Party at church! Bring a wrapped white elephant gift. A special lunch will be served.
• Sunday December 19: Sunday School (9:45 am), Worship Service (11 am) followed a special Christmas Dinner in the Fellowship Hall
• Tuesday December 24 at 6 pm: Christmas Even Candlelight Service at church. Invite your friends!

Message for the Third Sunday of Advent – Joy

Scripture Reference: Luke 3:8-17

1. No Joy in Our Condition
   1. So John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him,
      1. Within the Gospel of Luke the singular “crowd” is used 25 times and the plural “crowds” is used 16 times.
      1. Luke uses the term in both favorable and less favorable ways.
   1. A generation (offspring) of vipers
      1. See Matthew 3:7. Matthew records that John made this statement when he saw “many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, but this reference also applies well to all of us in general as Matthew Henry notes in his commentary “… the guilty corrupted race of mankind is become a generation of vipers …”
      1. The Fourfold Gospel commentary on Luke 3:7 notes that John is probably crafting a word picture. Possibly borrowed from Isaiah 59:5 (They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake and spin a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, a poisonous snake will hatch.)
      1. The Jewish leaders were full of guile and malice, cunning and venom.
      1. Later, Jesus would use the same words when addressing the same religious groups. See Matthew 12:34; 23:23, 33.
      1. That which comes out of the mouth proceeds from the storehouse of the heart. In other words the from a good heart blessings and peace proceed from the mouth. From the wicked heart comes guile and malice.
   1. Who warned you to flee the coming wrath
      1. Last week Dave talked to us about the idea of “making the path straight” so that the conqueror’s procession could come straight into the conquered area. Here John moves past the arrival of the King and proceeds right to judgment. In times past when a city, area or nation was conquered the conquering king would hold a court or tribunal immediately (see Jeremiah 39:1-14 as an example) and would pass judgment.
      1. John here speaks to the crowds, and to the Jewish religious leaders specifically, regarding the second coming of Christ and the judgment that will accompany the resurrection of the dead. It comes in a rather extreme form, a slap in the face if you will, to wake them from a deluded state.
      1. Baptism – a way out of the coming judgment …
   1. Therefore, produce fruit that proves your repentance
      1. Repentance is a turning away from or better yet the idea of turning around and going in the opposite direction.
      1. When caught in something we are often feel sorry
         1. Sorry I got caught and I apologize
         1. Or, sorry I did the thing and don’t want to do it again
   1. Don’t begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
      1. There are always multiple layers to God’s Word, often being described as personal application and corporate application. Here we have a statement that has both personal and corporate application.
         1. It is always dangerous to reply on family roots when thinking about your own salvation.
         1. This is also a proclamation that this repentance would not be for the Jews only, but would also include the Gentiles.
      1. Every tree bears fruit of some kind even if we don’t recognize it as fruit that is good to eat. The fruit of a pine tree is a pine cone. It contains the seeds from which new pine trees come about.
      1. It is the natural purpose of the seed to bring about reproduction
      1. In the case of what we call fruit trees it is purpose of the fruit to provide food for us and to provide a seed for procreation of the tree. For instance see Genesis 1:29, 30.
   1. Verses 10 through 14 describe the fruit of true repentance.
      1. Consistent with the Law and Prophets in relationship with others and how you treat your neighbor
      1. Good things proceed from the good heart. A heart changed by repentance. Not a works based gospel – I do good things in order to be justified, but I am justified therefore I desire to do good things.
2. The Coming of Joy
   1. While the people were filled with anticipation and they all wondered whether perhaps John could be the Christ
      1. The Greek construction here is immediate, not in the sense of anticipating something in the future, but right now.
      1. In the previous verses John has delivered a message that the average person listening would realize that they could not accomplish these things on their own. John had made that clear by including the Jewish Pharisees and Sadducees, and even referring to them as “offspring of snakes”. The people are now hoping fervently that someone is going to come to deliver them. Perhaps John could be that person?
   1. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but one more powerful that I am is coming – I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals.”
      1. In v. 2 we find “… the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.” In this verse the word word is rjhma, not logos, so it is much more a call to begin ministry. It is not an appearance of Christ. Never-the-less, John clearly understands his own condition before God. Even though he lived off of locusts and wild honey. In other words John lived a really simple life before he started baptizing people into repentance.
      1. The call of God on us causes us to understand our true condition before a holy God. Isaiah said (Isaiah 6:5) “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips.” (NASB)
      1. Out of that (proper) understanding John clearly tells the people that he is not the promised one.
      1. The promised one will be coming after him (John). Another way to put this is that the one that they are seeking will be coming shortly. Their anticipation is warranted.
      1. This begins to tie our scripture passage into today’s theme of Joy. Can you see how?
   1. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
      1. Here is the answer to the question “Can you see how?”
         1. When we understand that we are undone, or ruined before the presence of a holy God (Isaiah 6:5 paraphrased)
         1. Or, when we understand that we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteous-nesses are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6, RNKJV)
         1. The baptism of Jesus Christ is a baptism not into repentance (discharged from the guilt of your sin), but into justification (declared to be as one who has not sinned), Romans 3:20,-22 “For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed – namely, the righteousness of   God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
         1. The Holy Spirit is the “down payment” of our inheritance as a son (II Corinthians 5:5). One who is justified before the Father.
      1. The answer then is that Jesus is our redeemer. Faith in Jesus brings us through a baptism that brings Joy, Joy Joy!
   1. This day in the season of Advent – Joy – is all about how the ultimate joy, unspeakable joy, comes to us through the birth that we are looking to right now.
   1. Pray with me please:
      1. Father, I ask that you would press down upon each one of us here today …
      1. With our heads down and our eyes closed, if you have never truly surrendered yourself to Jesus …