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<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Who Jesus
Really Is</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><BR>I don't
know where life may be defeating you this Advent. I don't know how Jesus may be
disappointing you this Advent. But I would suggest to you this Advent that any
disillusionment you feel may not necessarily be a bad thing. For what is
disillusionment if not, literally, the loss of an illusion? And, in the long
run, it is never a bad thing to lose the lies we have mistaken for the
truth.<BR><BR>Did Jesus fail to come when you rubbed the lantern?<BR>Then
perhaps Jesus is not a genie.<BR><BR>Did Jesus fail to punish your
enemies?<BR>Then perhaps Jesus is not a cop.<BR><BR>Did Jesus fail to make
everything run smoothly?<BR>Then perhaps Jesus is not a mechanic.<BR><BR>Over
and over again, our disappointments draw us deeper and deeper into<BR>who Jesus
really is ... and what Jesus really does.<BR><BR>William A. Ritter, Collected
Sermons, <A
href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=aelnpceab&et=1104033936790&s=45429&e=0013lkBd87ia2i8EFQNsSvx4YtdcdKeHzgCSFBAJcwbntieddbhwgYGEl9J9UmevaymKLv3-aypNOEMrrDln_-0bIyuSBdwu1KthCBTbA2uLsQtAxZbijPVYA=="
shape=rect target=_blank>www.Sermons.com</A></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><BR>__________________________________________</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The Controlling
Emotion of Fear</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">H. A. Williams,
one of the leading preachers and theologians of the Church of England, titled
his autobiography, Someday I'll Find You. That may seem like an unusual title
for an autobiography, but if you read the book, as I did when I was a seminary
student, it begins to make sense.</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">You see, there
was a period in Dr. Williams' life when he was almost totally incapacitated by
phobic anxieties. He was afraid to into the streets and marketplaces, afraid of
elevators and escalators, afraid to ride on trains or buses or subways, afraid
of flying - you name it, he was afraid of it! Eventually he became so overcome
with fear that he was partially paralyzed, and it was only after years of
psychoanalysis and treatment that he was able to conquer his fear and go on with
his life.</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Fear is one of
the most controlling emotions of life. Most of us don't like to think of
ourselves as fearful people. We prefer to think of ourselves as strong and
independent, as though we had the world by the tail and are just waiting for it
to say "uncle," as if we were capable of taking on all comers. "I am strong, I
am invincible," to borrow a line from one of my all-time least favorite songs.
It just ain't so, folks! None of us are "invincible," male or female. Every one
of us, at one time or another has felt the cold grip of fear and felt helpless
to do anything about it.</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Johnny Dean,
www.eSermons.com,</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">_____________________</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">We Can't See
What Is Before Us, We Are Never Content</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In a Peanuts
comic strip Lucy is speaking with Linus at the base of a hill. She says,
"Someday I'm going over that hill and find the answer to my dreams.... Someday
I'm going over that hill and find hope and fulfillment. I think, for me, all the
answers to life lie beyond these clouds and over the grassy slopes of that
hill!"</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Linus removes
his thumb from his mouth, points toward the hill, and responds: "Perhaps there's
another little kid on the other side of that hill who is looking this way and
thinking that all the answers to life lie on this side of the hill." Lucy looks
at Linus, then turns toward the hill and yells, "Forget it, kid!"</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Brett Blair,
www.eSermons.com</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">__________________</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Where Is the
Fire?</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">We get this
comforting idea that if we follow the Messiah life will somehow be smoother, or
at least all fit together in some "good" way. Then we run smack into the reality
that the only guarantee Jesus made to us had to do with the activities that come
after this life. In fact, Jesus very clearly expected that his followers would
have a harder time getting through this life than those who walked away. But we
still have these expectations of a "Savior" and when Jesus doesn't meet them we
begin to wonder if he is really who we thought he was. There are thousands of
empty church pews that used to be full of people who believed in Jesus Christ.
But then he didn't live up to their expectations and they went home. Their
families still fought, they still had some frightening decisions to make, and
they still couldn't make ends meet on a budget. They began to wonder if they had
made a mistake with Jesus.<BR><BR>Maybe that's what happened to John. He said
that he had come to baptize with water, and that the one following him would
baptize with "fire from heaven." So where was the fire? So far there wasn't even
smoke. So far, the Pharisees and Sadducees were still in charge of the faith,
and Rome was still in charge of the government. In fact, instead of bringing in
the kingdom, Jesus had kept pretty quiet up north while John got himself
arrested and thrown into one of Herod's dungeons on a mountaintop down by the
Dead Sea. That might make a person ask some questions. Is this any way for a
Messiah to behave?<BR><BR>At least I hope that's what happened with John. If
John the Baptist, as high up as he ranked, still had some questions, maybe there
is room for me and mine.<BR><BR>John B. Jamison, Time's Up!, CSS Publishing
Company<BR>_____________________________<BR><BR></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Only
Jesus</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">An anonymous
author made this striking comparison: "Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for
50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ's 3-year
ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of
teaching from these men, who were among the greatest philosophers of all
antiquity.<BR><BR>Jesus painted no pictures yet some of the finest paintings of
Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received their inspiration from
him. Jesus wrote no poetry but Dante, Milton, and scores of the world's greatest
poets were inspired by him. Jesus composed no music still Haydn, Handel,
Beethoven, Bach, and Mendelssohn reached their highest perfection of melody in
the hymns, symphonies, and oratorios they composed in his praise. Every sphere
of human greatness has been enriched by this humble Carpenter of
Nazareth.<BR><BR>His unique contribution to humanity is the salvation of the
soul! Philosophy could not accomplish that. Nor art. Nor literature. Nor music.
Only Jesus Christ can break the enslaving chains of sin. He alone can speak
peace to the human heart, strengthen the weak, and give life to those who are
spiritually dead."<BR><BR>David E. Leininger, Collected Sermons, <A
href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=aelnpceab&et=1104033936790&s=45429&e=0013lkBd87ia2i8EFQNsSvx4YtdcdKeHzgCSFBAJcwbntieddbhwgYGEl9J9UmevaymKLv3-aypNOEMrrDln_-0bIyuSBdwu1KthCBTbA2uLsQtAxZbijPVYA=="
shape=rect target=_blank>www.Sermons.com</A>
<BR>_____________________________________<BR> </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Doubt</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This is a good
sermon opener:</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In the
semantics of the church, doubt has been a negative word. It is rarely used in a
favorable way. Faith, not doubt, is the great word of the church. As I stand
here every Sunday morning and look into your up-lifted faces, you look so
proper, so content, so believing. You seem to be so certain, so full of faith,
and so free of doubt.</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">But, I have a
suspicion that the way you look is not the way you are. Beneath the skins of
many of you there is planted the seed of honest doubt. Perhaps you do not share
these feelings with anyone; but your doubts are there, and they are real. Your
worship does not express your doubts, uncertainties, and skepticism. In facing
this situation, all of us at times cry out with the man in the Gospel, "Lord, I
believe; help thou my unbelief." This capacity to doubt can often lead to some
of life's most profound questions.</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Such was the
case with John the Baptizer. His question -"Are you he who is to come, or shall
we look for another?"- grew not out of his uncertainty, but out of his doubt.
John the Baptizer had heard about the words and deeds of Jesus, but what he had
heard did not square with his expectation of the Messiah.</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">After all,
Jesus was born not to royalty, but to a peasant woman. He functioned not as a
military ruler, but as a servant. He came not as a judge, but as a forgiving
redeemer. He did not bring heavenly condemnation; he brought divine love. He did
not associate with the religious establishment, but he went from village to
village associating with the rubbish heap of humanity. He spent his time and
energy with the least and the lost. He was most concerned with the powerless:
the blind and the lame, the lepers and the deaf, and the poor and the out-cast.
And Jesus dared to teach that the weak occupied the most important place in the
Kingdom of God.</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">John the
Baptizer became confused about the way in which Jesus acted out his messiahship.
He had doubts about the validity of his contemporary, Jesus of Nazareth. His
skepticism caused him to send one of his buddies to Jesus with the question:
"Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" Like others in the
New Testament, John the Baptizer was not positive. Oh, to be sure, there were
fleeting moments of recognition. Mary thought Jesus was a gardener. Those on the
road to Emmaus never did recognize him. Even his closest disciples were not
certain if he was or was not the true Messiah.</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">That John the
Baptizer had doubts about the messiahship of Jesus is revealed in his question:
"Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" His question is
not clear, either in what is being asked or why. But like all good questions, it
shoves the reader into deeper regions of thought.</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Joe E. Pennell
Jr., From Anticipation to Transfiguration, CSS Publishing Company,
23-24.</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">______________________</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">It Doesn't Get
Any Better</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In 1964 my
boyhood home burned. We were on our way to spend Christmas with my mother and
father, and the word reached us that the flames had engulfed most of the home,
although the structure was standing. When we arrived at Texarkana, it was late
in the afternoon, and the December sun was already toward the horizon. I entered
the house with a cousin to inspect the damage and became aware of the fact that
it was difficult to see. I said to her, "I think I shall wait and come back in
the morning, when the light will be better." I shall never forget her reply:
"Bill," she said, "it doesn't get any better!" At first I did not know what she
meant...</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The conclusion
to this illustration and for many additional illustrations and sermons for
Advent and Christmas can be accessed at <A href="http://www.Sermons.com"
shape=rect target=_blank>www.Sermons.com</A>. </SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>