Please Note the Prayer Request at the end:
Four Readings:
Luke 1:31-33 (NASB)
31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32 "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."
Psalm 2:7 (NASB)
7 "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
2 Samuel 7:8-17 (NASB)
8 "Now therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, "I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel.
9 "I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth.
10 "I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly,
11 even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you.
12 "When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 "He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 "I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men,
15 but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
16 "Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.""'
17 In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.
Isaiah 9:1-7 (NASB)
1 But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
2 The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.
3 You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
An Advent Meditation:
In this Advent, one question we might ask is “what kind of a Jesus am I looking for?”
Mary was told he would be the “Son of the most high…who would reign over his Kingdom (of which) there will be no end.”
We might be tempted to be like David and say to God, “I will build something for you God.” Still, it is God who makes it clear, “I will make you a house.” And what is that house? It is the presence and power of the Kingdom of God. Jesus came to release the Kingdom as a reality against the kingdom of darkness that engulfed the world. In his Kingdom there is freedom from sin, releasing of oppression, freeing of captives, joy and love instead of hatred, anger and sin.
The Kingdom of God is – not was, but is – Jesus’ great delight. He came announcing – not only his own presence – but the freeing, liberating, powerful presence of the Kingdom of God. All who come to him, enter into relationship with the Father through him, and submit their lives to HIS rule, enter into his Kingdom.
As you reflect on these passages, how does the idea of being a citizen of the Kingdom of God hit you?
Do you realize the idea of Jesus’ Kingship? If you have never thought about that consider watching this video called “My King” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX_7j32zgNw
After watching the video, now what do you think about in relation to Jesus as King.
Do you feel that you are submitted to Jesus in all things? If not, where do you feel that you may need to go to Him and tell him that you need help with this or that?
Go ahead, Sing this quietly or out loud with all your might:
Joy to the World, the Lord has come,
Let earth receive her King,
Let every heart, Prepare Him Room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and Heaven and nature sing.
Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove,
The glory of His righteousness,
And wonders of His Love
And Wonders of His Love
And Wonders, Wonders of His Love
-Isaac Watts, 1719
A Prayer: Besides Praying this Advent prayer, would you also please lift up a prayer for my nephew Greg. He's in ICU in a hospital out east with an infection of the sac around his heart. These next two days are critical.
"Lord in this season of celebrating your incarnation, may I be filled with the childlike wonder of your Kingdom. Rule over me with truth and grace and help me to know the wonders of your love. I know you are King…King of heaven and of earth and all authority is yours, whether that authority knowingly commits itself to you or not…I want you to know I commit myself to your Kingship rule this day and on. I pray for Greg's healing and for strength and consolation through your Holy Spirit to his family. Amen."
Four Readings:
Luke 1:31-33 (NASB)
31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32 "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."
Psalm 2:7 (NASB)
7 "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
2 Samuel 7:8-17 (NASB)
8 "Now therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, "I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel.
9 "I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth.
10 "I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly,
11 even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you.
12 "When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 "He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 "I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men,
15 but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
16 "Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.""'
17 In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.
Isaiah 9:1-7 (NASB)
1 But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
2 The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.
3 You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
An Advent Meditation:
In this Advent, one question we might ask is “what kind of a Jesus am I looking for?”
Mary was told he would be the “Son of the most high…who would reign over his Kingdom (of which) there will be no end.”
We might be tempted to be like David and say to God, “I will build something for you God.” Still, it is God who makes it clear, “I will make you a house.” And what is that house? It is the presence and power of the Kingdom of God. Jesus came to release the Kingdom as a reality against the kingdom of darkness that engulfed the world. In his Kingdom there is freedom from sin, releasing of oppression, freeing of captives, joy and love instead of hatred, anger and sin.
The Kingdom of God is – not was, but is – Jesus’ great delight. He came announcing – not only his own presence – but the freeing, liberating, powerful presence of the Kingdom of God. All who come to him, enter into relationship with the Father through him, and submit their lives to HIS rule, enter into his Kingdom.
As you reflect on these passages, how does the idea of being a citizen of the Kingdom of God hit you?
Do you realize the idea of Jesus’ Kingship? If you have never thought about that consider watching this video called “My King” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX_7j32zgNw
After watching the video, now what do you think about in relation to Jesus as King.
Do you feel that you are submitted to Jesus in all things? If not, where do you feel that you may need to go to Him and tell him that you need help with this or that?
Go ahead, Sing this quietly or out loud with all your might:
Joy to the World, the Lord has come,
Let earth receive her King,
Let every heart, Prepare Him Room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and Heaven and nature sing.
Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove,
The glory of His righteousness,
And wonders of His Love
And Wonders of His Love
And Wonders, Wonders of His Love
-Isaac Watts, 1719
A Prayer: Besides Praying this Advent prayer, would you also please lift up a prayer for my nephew Greg. He's in ICU in a hospital out east with an infection of the sac around his heart. These next two days are critical.
"Lord in this season of celebrating your incarnation, may I be filled with the childlike wonder of your Kingdom. Rule over me with truth and grace and help me to know the wonders of your love. I know you are King…King of heaven and of earth and all authority is yours, whether that authority knowingly commits itself to you or not…I want you to know I commit myself to your Kingship rule this day and on. I pray for Greg's healing and for strength and consolation through your Holy Spirit to his family. Amen."
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