August's Sermons

Church Period: The Third Sunday In Advent
Sermon Title: The Blessings Of Christ's Coming
Sermon Date: December 16, 1979
Rev. August Hauptman
Sermon Text: Luke 3:7-18

Dear Christian Friends:

Next Sunday will be Christmas Day. We all have many things to do before we are ready. I'm sure that most of us will be ready for Christmas, but will you be ready for Christ? In the rush and confusion to get ready for Christmas, we may fail to get ready for Christ. This Christmas, Christ, the heavenly Guest wants to come to your heart with His riches and blessings. Christmas will not mean much to us if we are not ready for Christ's coming.

Our text for this Sunday is again, as it was last Sunday, about John the Baptizer and what he preached to Israel to get them ready for Christ's coming. From this text, we can be reminded about the rich blessings that Christ brings when He comes to us.

The First Blessing: Christ by His coming helps us confess that we are sinners. Is that a blessing? Yes! It is a wonderful blessing! Why? Because if we honestly confess our sins, we do not need to hide them anymore or invent lies and stories to cover up our wrongs. We do not need to continue living as a two~ faced hypocrite. We can be honest before God and honest with our family and friends. That is a big relief! A person who has done wrong, will often tell many lies and try to keep his sin a secret. He hides from the police and tells lies to his family and friends. And he never knows when someone will discover his crime. He worries day and night that someone will catch him. After he confesses his crime, he begins to feel a great relief. So we, when we confess our sins to God and to others, we feel much relief. He forgives our Sins.

John helped the Jewish nation confess their sins. They came to him to get baptized, but in their heart, they were not really sorry about their sins. They wanted baptism from John because everyone else was being baptized. So John said to them, "You people are the same as snakes. Do you think you can escape from the anger of God in the future? Live and show you really changed from your sins. Don't begin to think that Abraham is your father. I tell you God is powerful enough to grow Abraham's children from these rocks." (vv. 7-8)

If God were preaching to us today, he would say something like this: “You people are two faced hypocrites. Do you think you can escape God's judgment? Do you think God does not see and know your sins and wrongs? By your life prove that you really have, changed from your sins and are sorry. Don't say, I’m baptized, I'm Lutheran. Anyone can get baptized. Anyone can join the Lutheran church. That doesn't prove anything."

Let us, this Advent season, really examine our hearts and honestly confess our sins to God and to one another. Then we will begin to feel a big relief. The heavy burden of a fake life will be removed. Let us also believe that God forgives. That's the first blessing that Christ brings to us when He comes. He makes us honest and confess.

The second blessing is that He helps us to do good works. When John preached to Israel about Christ’s coming, they began to ask him what they must do. (v. 10) John answered, If anyone has two coats, let him give one coat to the man who has no coat." (v. 11 ) If we are really sorry about our sins and really believe that Jesus came to forgive our sins, that He is our Savior from God, then we will prove our faith by sharing our money and possessions with the poor and needy. We will love our neighbor as we love our self. (Example of Sister Theresa when she received the Noble Prize.)

Some tax collectors came to John for baptism. They asked, “Teacher, what can we do? John told them, “Be honest; collect only what the law permits. If we really are sorry about our sins, we will be honest in all our business dealings also with the IRS. We will not cheat and do crookedly in business like many people today are doing.

Some soldiers came to John to get baptized. They asked, “What can we do?” John answered, “Don’t force people to do things for you, and don’t accept bribes, but be satisfied with your pay." (v. 14) Many people use their power and high position to force people and hurt them. Soldiers, police, government officials, employers, union bosses, etc, are some of these. There is much of that happening here in Los Angeles, as you can see if you read the newspaper. We should not use our high position or office to hurt people. Instead, we should use our power to help people and not be greedy for personal gain (profit).

Jesus comes to us, He changes our hearts and our lives. In one Advent hymn we sing:

“When Jesus enters land and nation

and moves (leads) the people with His love

When yielding (give-up) to His kind persuasion (influence)

Our hearts His truth and blessing prove.

Then shall our life on earth be blessed

The peace of God on us shall rest." (TLH 65 v.)

When Jesus comes, He makes us do right and good works. That is the second blessing of of his coming.

The third blessing is that He helps us bravely tell others who He is. We learn that from John’s example. Many people of Israel thought that John the Baptizer was the promised Christ. In verse 15, we read, “The people began to hope for something wonderful and began to wonder if John maybe is the Promised Savior."

John could have said that he himself was the Promised Savior and by that lie, he could have received much power, riches and glory for himself. The Jews misunderstood about the Promised Savior. They waited for God to send them a brave soldier-king to help free them from the oppressive rule of Rome, and to establish their power and glory like before under King David and Solomon. If John would tell a lie and say that he himself was the Promised Savior, they would have quickly made him their king, like David.

But John did not accept there praise and their offer. He told them that he was not the Christ. He told to them, "I baptize you with water. But the Promised Savior is much greater than I. I am not worthy to untie the Savior's shoes. The Savior will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (v. 16) John bravely confessed about the Promised Savior.

We will also do this if we let Christ come into our hearts and live in us. We like John, will receive the Holy Spirit and bravely tell others the truth about Jesus Christ.

Today, also many people misunderstand about Jesus, who He is, and what He really does for us. Many people hear and sing Christmas songs, but they do not really understand about Jesus or believe in Him. They sing the songs because it is traditional, but they really don't know Jesus. Christmas is a good opportunity for us to tell our unbelieving friends and neighbors about the promised Savior. We often are tempted to deny Christ and be ashamed of Him when we are with Jewish or Mormon friends or even Muslims or other unbelievers. Maybe we get some earthly pleasure or profit by denying Christ and not telling others about Him or by acting and living like the unbelievers. Many times, and in many ways, Satan tempts us Christians to deny Christ. Do not deny Christ. Confess Him boldly like John the Baptizer did. Jesus comes to give you a strong faith and courage to confess Him to the world. That is the third blessing His coming brings.

The fourth blessing of Jesus’ coming is that he gives faith in Him that we need not fear when He comes the second time to judge all people. In verse 17 of our text John with a parable says that Jesus will come again at the end of the world to judge. (read v. 17)

John compares the judgment with the harvest of grain. Same as a farmer separates the grain from the straw, Jesus will separate the believers from the unbelievers. The grain means the believers; the straw means the unbelievers.

Same as the farmer saves the grain and puts it into his barn, so will Jesus save the believers and put them protected into his home in heaven. Same as the farmer gathers the straw and throws that into the fire, so will Jesus send the unbelievers into hell-fire.

That will be a very exciting and wonderful day when Jesus comes from heaven in glory and power with all His angels to take us home with Him into heaven. We will be free from Satan and all his evil angels. We will be free from all the bad people and things of this world. There in heaven will be no sickness, sorrow or pain. God will all tears wipe from our eyes. Also no death! We will praise and worship God, joined with all the holy people.

Therefore, let us now this waiting season hear the Good News of our Savior Jesus. Let us confess our sins and believe in Jesus who died on the cross for our forgiveness. Let us with His help forsake bad ways and walk the good way, and hope He comes quickly.

Conclusion: Jesus’ coming at Christmas brings us these four blessings!

Amen