Listen to the Voice that Cries Out
by Pastor Edwin Lehmann on December 22, 2023 in John 1:19-28
Advent 4 December 24, 2023
Text: John 1:19-28 Historic Series 23:2420
Theme: Listen to the “Voice” that Cries Out in the Wilderness.
Part 1: My Name Is John.
I wear simple clothing, a rough tunic spun from camel’s hair. I gather it at my waist with a leather cord. The cloth is coarse, anything but soft and luxurious. If you came looking for me as a man dressed in fine clothing, you were mistaken. No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces (Mt.11:7). I wear clothing that God’s voices of old wore, prophets like Elijah and Zechariah (2Kgs1:8; Ze.13:4). But you shouldn’t be concerned with me and how I look. A prophet’s clothing does not matter – his words, his witness do. God did not send me to look pretty. He called me to speak for Him. I was the Voice that Cries Out in the Wilderness, bearing immortal testimony to the Coming One.
My name is John. It means “the Lord is gracious.” God is gracious. That is part of my witness. He was gracious to me, giving me parents who raised me in the fear of the Lord.
My father, Zechariah, was a priest. He often told me the story of my birth. It was an answer to prayer. For years my parents prayed God to give them a child. But nothing happened. The time was not yet fulfilled; God’s answer was “no.” But more than that God predestined my birth so that I would be His Voice Crying Out when His time was ready.
One day the angel Gabriel appeared to my old father as he was presiding over the worship service inside the Holy Place of the Temple. It was late afternoon, the time of the evening sacrifice. Gabriel told father that God was answering my parents’ prayers. He would give them a son. They were to call me John. I was predestined to be God’s voice crying out and bearing witness of His grace to His wayward people. Gabriel said of me, “He will bring back to the Lord their God many of the people of Israel. He will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn hearts…and make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Lk.1:16f).
My witness was of divine destiny. In the Book of Malachi, the Lord spoke of my role: “See, I will send my messenger who will prepare the way before the Lord. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to His temple.” (3:1). I was to go ahead of the Christ in the fervent spirit of the prophet Elijah. I would be
Messiah’s Forerunner, testifying to His divine, immortal nature.
God spoke those words 400 years before I was born. Can you imagine anyone foretelling your birth and role in life 400 years before you were born? That doesn’t happen, just twice in history: once for my birth, the second time for the Savior’s birth. Ours were true miracle births. Mine was not as miraculous as my cousin Jesus’ was. But my birth was greatly outside of the ordinary. It was an act of Almighty God. All things are in His hands.
My name is John. “The Lord is gracious!” That is my cry.
Part 2: My job was to ready people for the Christ. But my parents didn’t see me fulfill that. They were old at the time of my birth. However, God had revealed to them that His voice would ring out through me. My job was to get people ready for the Christ.
I needed God’s Spirit for the task because the times were evil. It had gotten so bad among God’s own people, Israel, that He didn’t speak to them through a prophet for over 400 years. Can you imagine not having any pastors for over 400 years?
During that time my Hebrew ancestors experienced great heartache. Heathen nations dominated us. We came under Roman rule. Herod, our king, who was not of David’s royal family, was just a puppet for the Romans. He cared more about himself than us. The high priests ruled our land with him. They bought their office from the Romans with money. That’s not the way it is to be, but religion and politics often mix in ungodly ways. Hell had broken loose, and demonic forces filled our world. It happens in every age when people turn from God. But remember, God is gracious.
At age 30 He sent me into the wilderness to bear witness of the Coming One. It was my job to get the people ready for Him. “Make straight the way of the Lord. Prepare your hearts for Him!” I cried. It was time for God to assert His eternal rule in the lives of people everywhere. But people would have to get ready for His coming. Something would have to turn them around from the way they were going. Sin surrounded us.
The message never varied. It spoke straight to the heart. It minced no words because my testimony of the coming Christ had to first convince people of their deepest need. “You brood of vipers,” I cried. “You live like Satan. You steal, you extort, you bully, you speak badly of others, you’re not content with the things you have. The ax of God’s judgment is ready to swing and cut you down. He
will cast you into hell’s fire for your ungodly ways!” (Lk.3:7f).
Had you heard my voice, you would have cried out like the people in my day: “What should we do?” “Make straight a way for the Lord!” was my reply. “Repent.” Think of my witness this way.
You are trapped in a building on fire with no way out. But you are hardly aware of your predicament. Then you hear a cry calling you to crawl out the window onto a ladder set to rescue you. Before you will do that, you must be convinced that the building is burning, and you are going down with it unless you react.
Likewise, before people want a Savior, they must be convinced of their need for Him. So, I pointed my finger at sin. I point it for you, too. It’s not a comfortable thing to do; but it is critical if people are to get ready for the Christ.
We live in a world that is sin-saturated and so little sin-conscious. It accepts sin as a norm for life. We can get caught up thinking the same way. We don’t put God first; we deny our sin and cover it over with excuses. We go on, more concerned about society, politics, the economy, and our place in the world than our place before God in the present and in the afterlife. In a sin-denying world God’s voice must ring out, “Make things straight with God. Prepare a way for Him. Get ready. He can’t come to you this way.” Before the Lord can help, one needs to hold his soul’s aching head in his hands and moan, “My sin, oh, my sin. It will destroy me.”
That message stirred many people. Soon the religious leaders in Jerusalem sent a delegation to me to ask who I was? My time for a clear testimony had arrived. “I am not the Christ; not Elijah (come back from the dead); not the Prophet (the one greater than Moses who was to come – Dt.18:18). Then who are you?” they asked. “What do you say about yourself? “I am a voice crying out in the desert: ‘Make straight the way of the Lord!’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” My reply obligated these authorities and the whole nation, as well as each of you, to deal with the One vastly higher than I am. As I told them, “Among you stands one you do not know. He is here but has not yet stepped forward. He comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
When the master of the house or an honored guest enters, it is the task of the humblest slave to kneel, unfasten the sandal straps, bathe the feet, and cleanse the sandals of dust. With that little parable I was trying to get people ready for the Christ by picturing the Coming One as the Master of His own home and the most exalted Guest in life. In myself I was not worthy to perform for Him the most menial service. I am nothing compared to Christ. I am a mere human being. But the One whose birth you will soon celebrate is more than a man. That truth obligates everyone. It obligates you to deal with God Himself. So, get ready to deal with God, that you approach Him tonight for whom He will be for you.
Part 3: He Is the God-man, Your Savior.
Later, after the delegation from Jerusalem left, I was preaching and baptizing people for the forgiveness of their sins. Then I saw Him. I pointed and cried, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” He is God, Your Savior! Go to Him.”
And that was it. My time was up; my job was completed. He would increase while I would decrease into the background. He alone saves us. In His gracious way, God had sent His Son into this world to release us from the bonds of sin and death. I had pointed at sin, but now I point to the Savior. My job as God’s voice was done for my people. But for you God’s voice still speaks through my testimony. He is the God-man, Your Savior.
My testimony is given to impress upon you the infinite greatness of Him whose birth you are about to celebrate, before it takes place. I testify to the deity of Him who was born in Bethlehem.
You sing of the little Lord Jesus born and laid in a manger because He had no crib for His bed. But see more, far more. That is your Creator, your Redeemer, God Himself in human form. None could possibly stand to perform the work needed for our redemption except the very Son of God. This is my testimony. It must be yours. It calls for belief on your part, aimed to produce faith and all faith’s fruits. Where faith already exists, my testimony as the Voice that Cries Out aims to increase, intensify, and fortify it lest it declines and grows ineffective. Listen to God’s Voice and react to my cry! To meet God’s testimony of Himself with nonchalance, indifference, or unbelief signifies a most fatal guilt.
A child is born, yet no ordinary child. This is God, incomprehensibly made man – not by changing the deity into flesh, but by taking the humanity into God, yet without sin – not by mixture of the natures, but by unity in one person. God and Man is one Christ. This is your Savior. Believe it faithfully and firmly and you will be saved. God grant it to us for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Lighting Candles at Advent
The lighting of candles in the Advent Wreath helps to symbolize the age before the first advent of Christ when the light of prophecy concerning the coming Messiah became brighter and brighter until He appeared saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
As we now await His second advent, the light of faith shines within each believer producing in ever increasing brightness the divine gifts of Love, Peace, Joy, and Hope that the Savior gives. Each gift is a fruit of the Spirit which God bestows upon the heart by way of faith in Jesus, the Savior.
The first candle in the wreath was called the candle of Love in order to symbolize the love of God that was revealed to fallen mankind during this season. The second candle was called the candle of Peace to symbolize the blessed relationship with God that we now enjoy through the Savior. The third candle was called the candle of Joy to symbolize the effect that faith in the Savior has upon the one who trusts in Him. The fourth candle that we light today has been called the candle of Hope to symbolize the surety of the blessed promises which God has in store for His people through Christ.
The Fourth Candle: Hope
At the far end of the road of life, Christ has promised many exciting things to the one who remains in faith. He has promised the angels to carry the believer to eternal glory. He has promised the splendor and honor of serving Him as kings and priests of righteousness. He has promised that the eternal dwelling of God shall be with men and that every tear shall be wiped from their eyes. It fills us with hope as we look forward in great anticipation to the things that are yet to come.
Such hope has always sustained God’s people in their present sufferings. In hope they triumph over long years of walking through the valley of the shadow of death. In hope they endure persecution, danger, sickness, and the sword. In hope they lay loved ones to rest, awaiting the resurrection to take place on the great day of the Lord’s coming. Hope sustains them in the present.
Christmas and the birth of the Savior usher in this hope and lay it before us as a bright, shining jewel. So it is fitting that our last candle in the Advent season should symbolize the hope that is in us as we look forward in anticipation to the Advent of the Savior.
Congregational Scripture Reading:
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Isaiah 40:29-31
Prayer (Pastor):
O Holy Spirit, who in the Word fires the imagination of God’s people, hold us firm in the faith and steady our feeble steps through this world in the Christian hope of the better life that is to come. And when Christ bursts forth in magnificent splendor to claim us for eternity, may we see Him with our own eyes and rejoice at His coming; through His most holy name. Amen.
Zion Lutheran Church of Springfield
(A member congregation of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod)
4717 S Farm Rd 135 (Golden Avenue)
Church phone: 417.887.0886 Pastor’s cell phone: 417.693.3244
www.zionluthchurch.com email: revelehmann@gmail.com
You can also find us on Facebook
The Fourth Sunday in Advent December 24, 2023
“Rejoice! The Lord is near.” Philippians 4:4
Welcome: The family of Zion welcomes you as we worship the Lord today. We encourage children to worship with us. However, if you need to leave with your child, there is a nursery room to the right as you exit the sanctuary. The rest rooms are located in the hallway between the sanctuary and the fellowship hall. Visitors, please sign our guest book to the right, just outside the sanctuary. We’re glad that you are here and pray that through our worship the Lord grants you peace.
U p o n E n t e r i n g G o d’ s H o u s e
(Messiah speaks) “Then I said, ‘Here I am. I have come. The book written on a scroll tells about me. My God, I take pleasure in doing Your will. I preach righteousness in the great assembly. Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You” (Psalm 40).
W h a t T h i s S u n d a y i s A b o u t
The Preparation. The ancient Church called the last Sunday before the celebration of the Nativity The Praeparatio, that is, The Preparation. Indeed, the lessons of the day and the prayers seek to reflect the sense of immediacy, preparation, and expectation of the faithful: “The Lord is near”; “Make straight the way of the Lord”; “Listen to Him;” “Then I said, ‘Here I am, I have come;’” Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come!” Such are exclamations of joy and hope in anticipation of that which is about to take place – the coming of the Savior.”
If we are to be properly prepared for the commemoration of Christ’s first coming, the inner spiritual presence of Christ is needed. Then we shall be properly prepared to bow before our Savior.
Therefore, in eager expectation of His coming, we pray: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come. Take away the burden of our sins and make us ready for the celebration of Your birth so that we might receive You in joy and serve You always, for Your name’s sake. Amen.
– T h e W o r d o f G o d f o r T o d a y –
Old Testament Lesson: Deuteronomy:18:15-19
The Lord promises His Old Testament people to send a prophet to them like Moses. He would be greater than Moses, for from Him comes the Word of the Lord and in Him is grace and truth. He will intercede and make atonement for them before God. Those who listen to Him will be saved.
Epistle Lesson: Philippians 4:4-7
Even though St. Paul was in prison and endured many hardships because the world opposed the Gospel of Christ that he preached, he could still rejoice in the Lord and encourages us to do the same. The Lord is near. Put aside anger and anxiety, setting your mind on Him.
Gospel Lesson: John 1:19-28
Before Christ’s first coming God sent John the Baptizer as a witness to the Savior’s ministry which was about to come on the earth. John freely confessed Christ and his own role in preparing the way for Him. That was his joy, calling people to repentance and faith in the coming Savior.
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The Organist: Jane Rips is with family in Iowa for Christmas.
The Preacher: Pastor Edwin Lehmann
Point to Ponder: “The hope of a Christian is the anchor of his soul, as the writer to the Hebrews says (6:19, ‘We have this hope as an anchor for the soul. It is sure and firm and it goes behind the inner curtain where Jesus entered ahead of us on our behalf.’
“Hope is also the Christian’s helmet in the battle of life, as Paul writes to the Ephesians (6:17), ‘At all times hold up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. Also, take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.’
“How invaluable is the Christian hope! To us it is like the anchor to a ship in a storm. Such an anchor is found in the hope of the Christmas Gospel. While that hope is firm, we need fear nothing. All is then safe, and we may look calmly on, assured that we shall ride out the storm and come at last safely into the haven of peace, where storms and tempests are forever unknown…. Hope fills the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation.” — adapted from Albert Barnes on “Hope”
Outline of Our Worship
Lord, Hear Us
Opening Thoughts on the Service
Advent Candlelighting – Hope
The Entrance Hymn: #327
The Order of Service
Morning Prayer: Hymnal pg.207
The Venite: Hymn #309
Lord, Feed Us
Psalm of the Day: #40
Deuteronomy 18:15-19
Philippians 4:4-7
John 1:19-28
Sermon Hymn: #316
Sermon Text: John 1:19-28 Listen to the Voice that Cries Out
Lord, Accept Our Response
The Te Deum Laudamus
Hymn #953
The Offering
Hymnal pg.213-214 “Lord, Have Mercy”
Prayers, Lord’s Prayer
Lord, Bless Us
The Benediction Hymnal pg.214
Closing Hymn: #313
WELS Connection: Pastoral training in Viet Nam
Silent Prayer
Fourth Sunday in Advent – Historic Series
Old Testament Lesson: Deuteronomy 18:15-19 God Will Send a Prophet.
15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brother Israelites. Listen to him.
16 That is exactly what you asked from the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly. You said, “Do not let me hear the voice of the Lord my God anymore, and do not let me see this great fire again, or I will die.”
17 Then the Lord said to me, “They have done well by saying what they said. 18 I will raise up a prophet for them from among their brothers, like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will speak to them everything that I command him. 19 Anyone who will not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.
Epistle Lesson: Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice In the Lord! He Is Near.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Gospel Lesson: John 1:19-28 John the Baptist Testifies about Christ.
19 This is the testimony John gave when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He confessed and did not deny. He confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “Who are you then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?” “No,” he answered.
22 Then they asked him, “Who are you? Tell us so we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ just as Isaiah the prophet said.”
24 They had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 So they asked John, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John answered. “Among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
28 These things happened in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version® (EHV®) © 2019
Calendar & Announcements for Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
| Today
Dec.24 |
Monday
Dec.25 |
Tuesday
Dec.26 |
Wednesday
Dec.27 |
Thursday
Dec.28 |
Friday
Dec.29 |
Sat.
Dec.30 |
Next Sun.
Dec.31 |
| 9:00 am
Divine Worship Service online -Facebook 10:15 am Fellowship & Bible Study 6 pm Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
Advent 4 |
No Midweek Bible Class this week
|
3 pm – 7 pm
All members and friends of Zion and Peace are invited to a Holiday Open House at the Lehmann’s – 921 Lewis St. in Marshfield |
9:00 am
Divine Worship Service with Holy Communion online – Facebook 10:15 am Fellowship & Bible Study
Christmas 1 – New Year’s Eve |
A Brief Bible Study on God’s Word for Today
We become enamored with eloquent and influential speakers today and eat up anything they say. But the true messenger of God will step out of the limelight and let Christ Himself shine in His Word. That is where the real change in our faith-born outlook comes from and the humble lifestyle that longs to serve Him and His will.
The Gospel Lesson: John 1:19-28 (the answers are found on the back side)
- Who was the focal point of John’s message?
- What was John’s attitude toward Christ?
Those We Remember In Our Prayers: Greg Miller; William & Laurie Moon; Pauline Jaeger; Kirsten Jaster (Laurie Moon’s sister); Greg Pierson (Long’s son-in-law); Libya, (Jodi Milam’s granddaughter); Barbara Long; Kathy Workentine; Robbie Woessner, undergoing radiation; Liz & Roger Lisenby; Lois Wiese; Liz Lisenby, in Cox South.
Holiday Worship Tonight we will hold two Christmas Eve Candlelight Services, one at Zion and one at Peace. Zion’s service will be held at 6 pm; Peace’s service will be held at 9 pm. You are welcome at either or both. Next Sunday is New Year’s Eve. Our Sunday morning service will be a year-ending service of Holy Communion. With us being able to hold that service in the morning, there will be no evening New Year’s Eve service this year.
Call Returned If you have not yet heard, Pastor Daniel Frey in Lee’s Summit, MO, has returned the call extended to him as pastor at Zion and Peace. We will wait until the holiday season is over before assembling for another call meeting. At this time, we think the next call meeting will be held on Thursday, January 11th, 6 pm at Peace. We will let you know more as we draw closer to that time.
Upcoming Services and Events
Sunday, December 24 – 9 am our regular Sunday morning worship; 6 pm Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
(9 pm – Children’s & Candlelight Service at Peace LC, Marshfield)
Saturday, December 30th, 3 pm-7 pm – A Holiday Open House for all at the Lehmann’s home in Marshfield
Sunday, December 31 – With New Year’s Eve being a Sunday this year, we will not hold a New Year’s Eve service that night, but will celebrate the turn of the year with a Communion Service in the regular morning worship time on Sunday.
The Week in Review
Last Sunday Worship: 30; Bible Study: 19; Midweek Bible Class: no class this week; Offerings: $4,397.
Next Sunday’s Lessons:
Sunday after Christmas: Isaiah 63:7-16; Galatians 4:1-7; Luke 2:33-40 (Historic Pericope Series)
Answers to Today’s Old Testament Lesson Brief Study:
- Some might have focused on John as their leader. John said he wasn’t the “light” but only the messenger to point out the light. Jesus is the Light of the world.
- John didn’t want the spotlight on himself but on Christ. His selfless humility is heard as he voiced that he wasn’t even worthy to do slave duty for Christ. Can we have any less an understanding of our relationship to Christ?
This week I am praying for……
