An Advent Meditation

The Stone Cut Out Without Hands

^{Taken from Dallas's handwritten sermon notes for the 4th Sunday of Advent in 1964,}

My message to you upon this fourth Sunday of Advent is on the subject: “A Stone Cut Out Without Hands.” That no doubt sounds like a strange title for the Christmas season, but I hope you will see that it is not before we leave here today.  

Before I read my text to you I must explain some of its context:
•    The time is around 6 centuries before Christ’s birth.
•    The place is Babylon.
•    The King, Nebuchadnezzar, has had a dream and forgotten it.
•    Daniel prays and finds out what the dream was (2:31-35) and what the meaning was.

"You, O king, were watching and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary radiance, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You continued watching until a stone was broken off without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed to pieces all at the same time, and they were like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the entire earth.

Daniel 2:31-35

What was this stone not cut out with hands?  

Six centuries later, come with me to Bethlehem…  There in a cow-barn—the son of a lowly peasant girl—lies the stone which will crush the kingdoms of this world until they become “the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever.” Please listen carefully while I state the fantastic claim which is the center of the Christmas message. Jesus Christ is the Savior of mankind both politically and personally. And because he alone is this, all other systems must fall before Him and be crushed. This is the message of Christmas, the one who is to save the world has come and he will destroy the works of Satan, large and small. This is good news, but not to everybody; not to those who are on Satan’s side.

Now dearly beloved, do we on this Sunday morning believe this?  There are many in the world who do not.  

Do we then have reason to hope that it is true?  Yes.  For,

    1.    The Stone Was Cut Out Without Hands. – meaning:
            The works of man’s hands falter, fail, and crumble.
            God’s work is effective and stands

    2.    The Great Power of God’s Quiet Ways.
            Like the sunshine – snow – crops – energy
            Think of relationships

    3.    How Man Works – FORCE, WRATH, HATRED. – Big Noise & Fuss.
            In States
            In Religions

        But we have watched Christ followers at work.
            The unlikeliness – 
            The effect actual – 
            CHRISTIANITY IS A HIGH HEROISM

 THIS GIVES GREAT REASON FOR HOPE THAT THE MESSAGE OF CHRISTMAS IS TRUE.

But now what about each of us?  

All we have said thus far is about such great things, Nations, Religions, Historical Movements.  What about us, me, Dallas Willard?

I am what is called an Evangelical Preacher.  That is, I believe that the place where we start is the individual, not the society; and the place we end is with the individual.  The significance of the individual is part of the essence of all I have to say.

What then is this Christmas message for us?

First: God’s Work – Be Practical

Second: Take Time This Christmas To Be Holy
a)    Let him examine our lives
b)    Let him remove what we cannot.

Third: Our Work - Be Effective