Just before we sing our offering song, can I take the opportunity to encourage you to go through the lobby at the back and don't miss what's on the wall. There's loads of different things, pieces of missionary information, prayer letters, magazines. Please don't miss what's there. If there are deacons in the way, push them gently to the side. One thing I just wanted to mention this morning is an edition that will be put up there for you. The latest version of the Caleb Bullet, and this is something I put together for the Caleb Foundation, just prayer points and some information on the different moral issues that are confronting us at the minute. There's a bit there about RE in schools. The dust hasn't yet settled on how that's going to be affected. And then there's the safeguarding issue, which has come up within the Presbyterian Church in recent times. Just items for you to pray. You probably comment about all these things. You're listening to the news and you shout at the TV. But listen, I'm not saying you shouldn't do that, but please do pray. Pray for these issues and ask the Lord to have his way in all of these matters. Now we're going to sing our offering song. It's one that was written by a man called Wilbur Chapman. He was an evangelist and his soloist on many of the missions and crusades that he had was a man called Charlie Alexander. Alexander's hymns. That was the guy. That was the guy. And he wrote this great song which takes us all the way through the gospel. One way, one day when heaven was filled with his praises. We'll keep our seats for the whole song. ♪ To be born on the bread of heaven ♪ ♪ My example is He ♪ ♪ Living, He loved me ♪ ♪ Dying, He saved me ♪ ♪ Bearing, He carried my sins far away ♪ ♪ Rising, He justified me ♪ ♪ Glorious day ♪ ♪ One day they came to a prouder East London ♪ ♪ One day they hailed him with violets green ♪ ♪ Shuddering, angry, dismayed and rejected ♪ Living in love with you, guiding me, saving me, bearing me fast to you. One day He rested from suffering grief. ♪ Oh, well, my Savior is He ♪ Living in love with me ♪ Riding in safety with me ♪ Carrying me, carrying me ♪ My strength far and away ♪ Rising in just defiance ♪ Bringing forever more Oh, glorious day! Undefeated, brave, free, unseated, nobile, He loved me, dying He saved me, Rarely defying my sins far away, Rising me just with Thine, Ringing forever, One day He's calling, O glorious day! One day the Lord is coming One day the skies with His glory will shine Wonderful day, my beloved one's reign Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine Let's join together for a moment of prayer. Heavenly Father, as we draw near into your presence once again, we have so much to thank you for. We thank you especially for our Lord Jesus, the one of whom we have been singing, who came from heaven. to be the Savior of the world. We thank you for him, for all the aspects of his life and death and resurrection that we should never forget, and Father, we should always take the opportunity to share with others. Thank you, Lord, for what our Lord Jesus Christ means to us. Father, we thank you, too, for all the blessings of life which you've given to us. We recognize, Lord, that as we give you our offering, we're just giving you back something of which you've first given to us. Nevertheless, Lord, our offerings are brought with thanksgiving and with the prayer, Lord, that you will take the money that we bring and multiply it and use it in the service of our Savior, not just locally, but to the ends of the world. We ask these things in the worthy name of Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen. Now just before our pastor comes and speaks to us, we're going to sing another song. And it's a song about the Bible and about the promises of God. I hope we realize how precious they are. You're going to hear very soon about a visit of one of the OM ships to Belfast. I remember the first time that the Logos came to dock in Belfast. That was a long time ago. But there was something notable that happened. At that time I was receiving the ship's letter and one of the prayer requests that they had was for a new generator. And as we were queued up to get on board, on the dock there was a rather new looking piece of equipment. It was light blue in colour. And on the top there was a card with this reference, Philippians 4 verse 19, which says, And that piece of physical evidence of that generator sitting there was an answer to the prayers of many people. who knew about the work of OAM and the need of the ship. God kept his promise and he provided the need. And he still does. He still does. So we're gonna be standing on the promises now. We can't have you standing on the promises if you're sitting on the premises. So I'll invite you all to stand together. Let's all stand as we sing this song and then Rodney will come and bring the message for this morning. Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my Savior. I am standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises of God. Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God. I'm standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God. Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my Savior. Standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord. I'm to live eternally by love's own accord. Overcomplicated with the Spirit's sword. Standing on the promises of God. Please be seated. Amen and amen. It's always good to be standing on the promises of God, promises that will never fail, because Christ will never fail. Just as a way, as a brief notice, I was asked to say it. Yes, tonight we will be having a visit from a couple of ladies from OAM. Just to get us excited about the ship's visit, we're having one of the OAM ships coming next year to here in Belfast. When you hear about the date, put it in your diary. We'll be arranging cars and minibuses and all to get up there and see one of the ships. So there's gonna be a couple people coming tonight just to give us that excitement, get us ready for what the Lord has done and what the Lord will do. Wonderful. Well, in case you haven't noticed, Christmas is coming. Just thought I'd say that. And you know, depending who you talk to, you get into this one little thing of advent. But advent has lots of different ideas for lots of different people. Just before we delve into those ideas, shall we pray? Lord, we want to thank you that we're here in your presence. We're here to learn about you. We're here to be confronted by you. We're here to engage with your truth. And so we just want to ask that you will speak to us afresh about a very familiar topic. Lord, that we may leave this place saying it was good to be here because we met with the living God. Amen. I wonder what comes to mind when you think of Advent. I wonder what's the first thing that springs to mind. I wonder if it's an advent calendar. Do you know, advent calendars, they're great. I would always like to know the person, I would like to shake the hand of the person who created them. But they're an interesting thing, and the more I've thought about advent calendars, don't worry, I'm not gonna speak on advent calendars, the more I've seen that they are quite relevant for not just this time of year, but definitely for the topic we will be looking at. So I wonder if the first thing you think about is advent calendars. or I wonder if you think about Advent wreaths. I remember my first year on OM when I was out in Austria. I remember my first Christmas. It was 1988. Yes, I can remember that far back, 1988. little time and we were there. In the middle of Vienna, snow was beginning to fall and they all decided to make advent wreaths, which was quite novel for me because I'd never come across them, let alone make one before. So we made them. It's quite an interesting thing. So I wonder if Advent wreaths come to mind when the candles and everything are, you know, some think that's very traditional, some may even think very Anglican, but they are very cultural in a lot of different countries. So Advent wreaths, I wonder if that's what you think about as well. Yet when we stop to think about Advent, we will find out that Advent is the start of a religious church season. Yes, this is the first Sunday of Advent, as it's known. The four Sundays leading up to Christmas. So countdown, we're on countdown now, okay? The first Sunday of Advent. So it's the beginning of a church religious season. season, when all our thoughts and minds begin to turn to Christmas and the leading up to Christmas and what Christmas is all about. So, today is known, according to Google, the first Sunday in Advent. Or, as well, you may find that the invention of something, for example, transportation, isn't just a religious season, but it's the invention of something or the arrival of something. For example, transportation was transformed by the advent of the internal combustion engine. So when we think about the advent of the internal combustion engine, we aren't thinking about an advent calendar. Are we really? Even though it's the same word, it's used two different ways, it has two different meanings, and we're gonna look at that as we go through. We're gonna look at what I have termed as the advent of advent, okay? The advent of advent. So advent, used as a noun, means a coming into place, coming into view, or coming into being, arrival. So when we're talking about advent, we're talking about something that's coming into view, or something that has arrived. And we have to ask, especially for us, what has come into view? What has arrived? And these are very important. questions that sometimes we jump straight into well-known passages, which we will do this morning. But we have to understand that Advent is something that's coming into view, something that's arrived. And so Advent has some different meanings. So as I said, it can also mean that Advent is the arrival of a notable person or thing. You know, we often talk about, when we were in St. Alan's, about the advent of the Queen's visit. You know, some people, when the Queen came to visit, it was such a great time. Our youngest daughter can still remember it and still talks about it, because she got an afternoon off school. It was a great time. You know, the Queen had come. And so the advent is the arrival of a person. Okay, so it's not just something, but someone. So we want to look at that. So I want to read a very well-known passage, a very well-known passage. You probably hear it multiple times as we go through the Christmas season, this Advent season. I want to read from Isaiah chapter 9, Isaiah chapter 9, verses 2, and then we'll jump down to verse 6 and 7. Isaiah chapter 9, starting at verse 2, and then we'll jump down to verse 6 and 7. says this, the people who walk in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice. From that time forward, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." So we're going to look at, as I say, the advent of Advent. This is part one, and you can also put it in as to the hope of waiting. The hope of waiting. Okay, we're going to look at this, we're going to see this, we're going to see how Advent is a time of waiting and preparation in all of this. So Advent is both a season and an event, or more accurately, the preparation for the arrival of an event. So what we're meant to be doing in church as we go through this Christmas time, this Christmas season, is preparing our minds, preparing our hearts for Christmas Day. That's what we're meant to be doing. We're not meant to be going through the motion. Excuse me. We're not meant to be going through the motions. But we are indeed meant to be preparing ourselves for the event which is the birth of Christ. As I say, we're gonna be looking at this. Our word advent comes from the Latin word Aventus, which literally means coming or arrival. So here's the question. When we're talking about Advent, about the birth of this child, this child that was coming, that Isaiah said was coming, we're meant to be thinking in preparation for, we're meant to be thinking in terms of something is coming, and I wanna be around when it arrives, or when he arrives. In the church calendar, it is a time of reflection on the preparation for Christ's first coming. It is also a time of preparation when Christians think about his second coming. A lot of people mis... Oh, dear me. A lot of people misunderstand that. They think Advent is all about Christmas Day. Advent is not just about his first coming. Advent is also about His second coming. It's still a time of preparation. It's still a time of looking forward. The only difference for us is when we come to Advent, we look both backwards at who has arrived, and we look forward to His second coming. So when we look at Advent, when we unpack Advent, that's what we want to be doing. It is on this first week of Advent, that is today, that most people in some denominations will light the first candle of the Christmas wreath. It's known as the hope candle. It's a time of hope. It's a time of anticipation. We're meant to be thinking of Christmas as a time of hope. God was going to come, God has promised, God has prophesied, God has put into motion this great time when He will come and grace the world. It's a time of hope, when He will undo all that sin has done, that He will bring healing and deliverance and forgiveness. So it's a time of hope, and I want us to think about that. So that's why I've put it, hope in waiting. As we wait, as we prepare, there should be a hope in our hearts, which, again, made me think very clearly. I wonder if you've got hope for the second coming. Some Christians have brushed Christ's second coming out of their minds and out of their lives. They're not even looking for his second coming, and yet we're told to be anticipating it, looking, being aware for it, and Advent is all a time of preparation for his first coming and his second coming. So, our reading we've had is, as I say, a very well-known one, that one from Isaiah chapter nine. But what was the event that the people were waiting on or hoping for, what were they anticipating? It's very clear that we understand that their hope, their anticipation, their waiting was for a child. Not just a thing, not just an event that was just nebulous in nature, They were waiting for a child, a son. Not just any child or son, the child of prophecy that was going to come. And we'll look at this. There was an anticipation that a child would be born. In fact, we're told again, it says, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. That's what we're told in verse six. Matthew chapter one verses 22 and 23 goes on to say this. So all this was done that they might be fulfilled, which was spoken through by the Lord through the prophet saying, behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. So, without trying to labor the point too much, they're waiting for a child, a son, who is God with us. That's who they're waiting for. That's who they're looking for. And we'll get to this as well, because Isaiah chapter 9 will say this. So, they're waiting for God to come into the presence. They're waiting for the arrival of God, and it's for a purpose. Now, you may say, Rodney, how long did they have to wait? Wow, that's a good question. There was between, and Matthew quotes about the prophet that was fulfilled, that's Isaiah. Isaiah chapter seven, verse 14 will give you that prophecy that a virgin will be with child. He'll be called Emmanuel. Between Isaiah and Matthew, there were 700 years. 700 years they were waiting. So if you think four weeks is long, put that in perspective. 700 years, God had spoken 700 years before the event and goes, guys, I'm coming. Hope. Anticipate, get ready, I'm coming. But it took 700 years. 400 years of those were the silent years between the Old and New Testament, 400 years when God didn't give any new prophecy at all. And so 700 years, there was this belief, and there was this anticipation, and there was this hope, and there was this waiting that this child would come. This God child is coming. And they waited for 700 years. In fact, it says that it was around, that these prophecies were written around 732 BC, that's the eighth century. which is a long time to wait, really, 700 years for the fulfillment. But let me put it to you like this. God's not in a rush. We're in a rush. We want everything done yesterday. In fact, that's one of the things that frustrates me now with technology. Who remembers letters? Anybody remember letters? Who remembers pen and paper? You used to write stuff, you used to fold it up and put it in an envelope, and then you'd fight it around, you'd get a stamp. You'd put the stamp on, it would take about three days to get somewhere. And if you're lucky, you'd get a response in a week. But these days, you send a text out and you're going, oh, they haven't responded yet. We want everything like now. And yet God says 700 years, I'm coming, just wait. God's not in a rush. There were things to be put in place. There were pieces to be put in place. And it took 700 years. And then Paul could say this in Galatians chapter four, verses four and five. But when the fullness of time had come, or when time was right, God sent his son. Think about that. I like to put these in sort of pictures in my head, but you can almost picture 700 years had passed, and for God, that's like now, because in eternity there is no time. But anyway, 700 years had passed on earth, and God the Father is speaking to God the Son, and he goes, are you ready? Time is right. And the Son goes, I'm ready, Dad. Send me." 700 years of preparation. We have to understand that this time of hope and this time of waiting is not that God wasn't doing anything. God was at His work. God was preparing the ground for His Son to come for the arrival of this event. And we look at the person a bit later, but this event of God coming to earth, Advent, It's an event. It's a thing that will happen. It's about someone who will arrive. We need to anticipate not just the person, but the actual event, which should speak to us about the future. So 700 years between Isaiah and Matthew. 700 years when God was putting everything into place, getting everything in order. We're looking at Daniel about the various empires coming and going in the Roman Empire. I think it's fascinating when you look at that. God waited until the most modern technological situation of their day, the Roman Empire. And in a small window, I wish we had time to unpack this, but we don't. But in a small window, when everything would work to the best of the ability, when the roads were there, and the communication was there, and the peace was around, and the language was all the same, when everything was just right, God sent his son. I want us to get the hold of this. This just wasn't Paul thinking about, oh, what's gonna be nice to be said? I know, let's just say when time was full, God sent his son. That sounds nice. It's not that. It's a fact that God had waited and God had prepared and God had put everything into place. 700 years, then the event happened. he stepped into time and space. And in case you're wondering, that's why we have BC and AD, and if you're gonna complain, I still like BC and AD, I don't like BCE, okay? And CE, I'm not a big fan on that one. Before Christ and the year of our Lord, he split time in half. I think it's very important we understand that our whole understanding of time and time recording revolves around the birth of Christ. 700 years in preparation for a child, a son to be born. Then we see that this child who is God, other than he's a God child. We see this again in verse 6. It says, because his name will be wonderful, counselor, mighty God. Mighty God. Remember Isaiah said, just a couple of chapters earlier than this, that his name would be Emmanuel, which means God with us. So we're not just talking about some random child given to a family in Middle East, you know, that caused a bit of a stir at the time. We're not just talking about some random child. We're talking about God with us. We're talking about how God took on flesh and stepped down into time and space. We're talking about this child who grew up in every way like we grew up, and yet he is God. He is the God child. He is mighty God. He's not just a God. And I mean this respectfully, because you need to understand that when Christ was born, There were so many gods about at the time. The Romans had a pantheon of gods. They collected them like smarties. They had so many gods. But he's not just a god. He's the god. The mighty god. The god above all gods. The king above all kings. This is who this child is. This event that we're waiting for this child to come is this is the mighty God who created heaven and earth. This God who spoke and everything happened. This God who steers the passage of our history. Our God who will steer the passage of future. You see, I believe God has the future in hand. I don't think it's a surprise to him. I don't think he's sitting up in heaven worried about political events. I believe wholeheartedly that God's in control. He is sovereign. And I don't only talk about the advent of the first coming of Christ. This same God who was born first time round is coming second time. but for a whole different purpose. And I think we have to be ready. So this child is God. He is a mighty God. He is the everlasting Father. I love the way, for us to get a sense of this, they have to speak in temporal language, time, everlasting. He was before time started and he'll be around when time ends. He is God. He's not affected by time in any shape or form. He is everlasting. He wants us to see that this, he just didn't come on the scene. He's been around long before. And I've actually began to think about the prophecies of Christmas. Do you know when the first prophecy started for Christmas? Genesis chapter three. Right back at the beginning, the prophecy started. And if you think 700 years was long to wait, what about a couple of thousand? That's long. But yet God's not in a rush, and God was constantly saying, here's what's going to happen, I will come. God, God and man together, he is going to come for a purpose. And this advent of God stepping down onto earth should make our hearts burst with joy. Here's another thing that will happen. And I'm picking up on stuff that I'm trying not to drift too far into next week's message. But this child is a child who would reign. He will reign and he will rule. That's what Isaiah said. In fact, he says again. Let me read verse six and seven. He says, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom. This is a God who is gonna reign. The government is gonna be on his shoulders. I don't think this is a statement where Isaiah is saying that God isn't ruling yet. I believe this is a statement where Isaiah is saying he is king, he will be king, and he wants to be your king. And I'll explain this in a minute. See, the government will be on his shoulders. It is on his shoulders, it will be on his shoulders, because he is the king above all kings. And this is a child who would reign. It says, of the increase of his kingdom, there will be no end. of the increase. This kingdom's going to grow. It's going to get bigger every day, every week, every month. People from every tribe, nation, and tongue are going to get saved. People of every age group are going to get saved. People who thought they were saved but weren't saved are going to get saved. People who'd walked away from God are going to come back. Why? Because of the increase of his kingdom, there's going to be no end. It's just going to grow and grow and grow and grow. This is the advent. This is the event. Are we looking for this event? Or are we just too busy eating our chocolate off the Advent calendar? This is the event. This is the anticipation that we're meant to have at this time of year. You see, one of the reasons I think upon this is very important. You remember in Israel's history, in fact, you could read about it in 1 Samuel 8, verses four to seven, Samuel was going about and the guys came up to Samuel, the prophet, and they went, Samuel, mate, you're getting old. I mean, you got your bus pass. You're getting old. And your sons, they're not walking in your footsteps. Give us a king, just like everybody else. And Samuel got annoyed at that. And you remember what God said? God said, Samuel, it's not you they've rejected, it's me. See, here is this thing, and this is what struck me as I was preparing this event. God is king. He's not gonna become king. He is king, but he wants you and I to make him king of our lives. And the reality comes is this. Who is king of your life? Someone's king. Someone or something is king. And are we like the people of Israel who say, we don't want God as king. We want to be like everybody else. We just want to be like everybody else. We want to look out there and just be like them. You know, we just want to fit in. Do what the world does. Be what the world's like. Just have a king like them. And yet if we take that stance, God says we reject him. as king. But here's the great thing, Christmas declares year after year after year that he is king. And the invite goes out year after year, will you make him king of your life? Will you give him the throne? I love these terms, these pictures, the throne of your heart. Put him on the throne, put him on the ruling seat. Make him number one in your life, Lord and Savior. But here's another exciting thing for those who like facts, a bit of statistics. There were between 270 to 300 years between Samuel and Isaiah. So, let's do a bit of math, shall we? If there are 700 years between Isaiah and Matthew, and there's around 300 years between Samuel and Isaiah, how many years is that in total? 1,000. So 1,000 years. These guys said, we don't want you to be king, but God said, I'm coming. Look out, be ready, anticipate, open up your eyes. A thousand years, people were stood in rebellion, not wanting God to be king, yet God is working everything out, putting everything in place so that he could appear and go, the king has arrived. It's a wonderful picture that we get here. The big difference is, and I want you to see this, is That the idea of Messiah or the idea of who they were waiting for had changed. In the 400 years of silence, I don't know if you've known about the family called the Maccabees, and there was the Maccabean Revolt, and there was a great war with the Romans, and it's a wonderful time, a big time in history. Well, it was around the Maccabean Revolt that the idea of the Messiah, or the idea of this coming God-man had changed from being a redeemer to being a conquering king. And so by the time Christ came, they were no longer looking for a redeemer, someone to save them, they were looking for a conquering king to kick the Romans out and reestablish David's throne. And God went, no, well yes, but no, I'm not gonna do it the way you want, I'm gonna do it a very different way. I'm gonna start with each individual person and I'm gonna invite you into my kingdom. I'm gonna invite you to be a part of my kingdom. I am king, I'm coming, just keep your eyes open. And when I come, I'm gonna provide a way that you can be part of my kingdom, each and every person. And in doing that, he will push out all enemy kings because we all become part of his kingdom. The question is, do we wanna be part of his kingdom? Are we constantly in that position where we say we don't want him to be king? This son, this child would be king The next thing we want to see is this child who would restore. There's an element of this child would restore things, put things back the way they were or to help restore things the way God wants them. And I think this is another anticipation, another sense of waiting, another sense of hope. My hope is in Christ and in Christ alone. Why? Because only Christ can fix the mess that the world is in. Only Christ can fix the mess that sometimes my life gets in. Only Christ can fix the mess. Only He can restore. God is not bound by the things that we are bound with, and yet He can restore and do a work of grace in each person's life. That is an amazing thing. Again, we could read verses six and seven but they bring out some wonderful pictures. They have wonderful counselor, Prince of Peace. Prince of Peace, what a wonderful picture that is. But I just wanna, in the time we have left, pick out a couple of things. One is counselor. He can give wise guidance, wise guidance. And again, this is a very much, plugs into a very Hebrew thought, a very Jewish thought. Remember back in the garden, When God said, don't eat of the fruit, follow my guidance, follow my wisdom, follow the way I say you should live. And of course, man went, ah, no thanks, we know best. Took a fruit, and because they trusted in their own wisdom, they sinned. And God says here, don't rely on your own understanding. Isn't that what it says in Proverbs? In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. He's a wise counselor. He gives wise guidance. In fact, James says, and I don't know if you're anything like me, but there are, I don't want to burst anybody's bubble here, but there are times that I don't have all the answers, okay? I just want to put it out there just so you know. But James says, if anybody lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault. James 1.5. If you lack wisdom, go to the counselor. He'll give us wise counsel, wise guidance. He'll give it liberally and generously to all without finding fault. And this is the anticipation we are to have, that this counselor is coming, this king is coming, and he will not take counsel from anyone, but he will give it. His guidance is true and pure. We have this idea of Prince of Peace. Prince of Peace. One of the biggest things I've found in our world today is everybody wants peace. Everybody wants peace. Peace between countries, peace between families, peace in those inner battles that we have. Everybody's seeking peace somewhere and about something. When God says, come to me, I'll give you peace. I'm the prince of peace. I will give you it. It's a free gift. if you'll take it, but to take it, he has to be king. It's not a catch, it's just the way life works. He wants to give us peace, but he wants to give us peace as part of his kingdom. if only we will have it. I love the way Paul writes in Colossians 1, verse 20, he says, and by him to reconcile all things to himself, by him whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his cross. And that's a very important thing. He's gonna be known as Prince of Peace, Christmas, and he's gonna make peace at Easter. Have you ever noticed that? If we never had a Christmas, we'd never have an Easter. If the Prince of Peace had never come at Christmas, he could never offer us peace and win for us peace at Easter. This is a reality that we don't often connect. We keep these wonderful times of year separate, and yet this is the work of God. Dare I say 700 years in the making? A thousand years in the making? Longer. God's not in a rush. God's putting everything in place so that we can engage with him. And then we have the relationship birthed out of justice. God will establish his kingdom in justice. Now, I think this is an important reality, because again, it points to Easter. It points away from the stable and points to the cross, but it brings this whole concept of anticipation, waiting, and hope with us. Again, Paul writes in Galatians 4, verses 4 and 5, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons. See, the purpose was not to give us trees. Christmas is not about just giving us trees or an extra bit of work to do. Christmas is about preparation for Easter. Listen to my words. Christmas is preparation for Easter. anticipation for the cross. So when we think about this advent, this event, this thing that was coming, this thing that's about to arrive, this whole, not just that we're not looking at the person, but this whole thing that's about to happen, this whole event, is there an anticipation, is there a waiting, is there a hope in our hearts that we will meet with Christ? the child who is God, the child who is king, the child who will restore all things, the child who was prophesied 700 years before he set foot on earth. And when he came, he came for the cross. We will be looking at the Christ of Christmas soon. But I just wanted to bring us into this hope of waiting, this hope that as these long years of waiting and hoping for the birth of Christ and the fulfillment of the promise had finally arrived, and we, Lord willing, if he tarries, or if he gives us grace, when we get to the December 25th, please all come, it's gonna be great. And we celebrate as we remember the birth of Christ and the promises fulfilled. Do you know what that should make us do? Anticipate the promises to be fulfilled for the coming Christ. So Advent is not just about waiting, this long, long wait. Advent is about hope, about anticipation. about God fulfilling his promises, about God at work to bring about what he desires with the invite that we are invited to be part of his kingdom. that we are invited, and I don't know what battles you're fighting. I don't know what wars you're a part of. I don't know if you're interested or you're not, but here is the reality. Whatever goes on in your head, God can bring you peace. God can bring you peace, and that's a promise I make because it's a promise God makes. So in our time of waiting, In our time of anticipation, there's hope. There's hope that the God we wait on will bring us peace. But let us not forget that Advent should stir each and every one of us, that it's not just about what has been, but it's about what is to come. It's about the second coming as well. Are we anticipating that one? Are we hoping for that? Are we praying for that? Advent, the arrival. We anticipate the arrival. He's done the first bit. Second bit's just around the corner. But we'll look at that in the weeks to come. Amen. Let us sing our final hymn together. Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Oh ♪ And heaven and nature sing. ♪ ♪ Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns, ♪ ♪ The sweet and soft and warm. ♪ ♪ By fields and streams, and hills and plains, ♪ He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations rejoice. Let us pray together. Lord, we want to thank you that we can See, the fulfillment of those long-awaited years, the fulfillment of prophecies, the fulfillment of promises, that we look back and we just give so much thanks and praise that you came on that first Christmas morning. And we thank you for why you came. And so we just want to ask and we just want to pray that if there are people here who do not know you yet, they will not leave this place without making you king of their lives, without giving full control over to you, following you as you command each and every one of us to follow you. So Lord, again, we thank you for this time of Advent, this time of waiting, this time of hope, this time of anticipation. And we ask that, Lord, if anything has not been from you, take it away. We don't want anything of man's wisdom or ideas. Take your word and apply it to our hearts that we will be eagerly waiting and anticipating your return. Amen. you