We've just finished another Advent season. I hope that your
preparations to celebrate the coming of Jesus as the promised Messiah bore good
fruit. One thing that Christians sometimes talk about is how the first century
people of God weren't prepared for the coming of their Messiah. It is something
that stands out in the Gospels. In light of that I thought it would be good to
talk about Jesus' other Advent, His Second Coming. And what I want to focus on
is your being prepared for that. Part of what led me to this was that our recent Gospel Readings in Matthew 25 where we've been hearing Jesus' parables about His return. They are
meant to prepare you for Jesus' other Advent. I want to do what I can so that
you will be prepared.
Let's start with this. Jesus is going to return. That's
clear in what He said. So, from one of those parables.
When the Son of Man comes in
his glory, and all the angels with him…
We all know Jesus is coming back. But the assumption is that
Jesus' return, if it happens after we die, doesn't really affect us. But that's
not true. There are significant things that will happen when He returns, things
that will very definitely affect us whether we are alive or not when it
happens. And understanding what those things are will guide how you live now.
Jesus' return is sure to happen and that is sure to touch your life in
important ways. So, it makes sense to prepare for it. The Bible's teaching
about our Lord's return is another of its very practical doctrines.
That leads to this. It's going to be a long wait before
Jesus returns. That's also clear in those parables.
As the bridegroom was delayed,
they all became drowsy and slept.
Now after a long time the
master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
What is important here is understanding what it means to
wait. Waiting, in this context, isn't just a matter of passing the time.
Waiting for Jesus' return is a matter of eager expectation. It's all about
hope, waiting for God to keep a promise.
Consider this. Life here has been cursed by God. Go back to
the Garden after sin showed up. God is speaking.
[To Eve] I will surely multiply
your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire
shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.
[To Adam] … cursed is the ground
because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns
and thistles it shall bring forth for you…
As you experience more of life, you feel more of that
cursing. And I hope that as you experience more of the Gospel you come to
understand better God's promise to change all of that.
He will wipe away every tear from
their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor
crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
As you understand these things better you become eager to be
saved from it all. But the waiting drags on. Jesus is delayed. And thus, a
problem.
As part of my interest in history I have read about war. As
I have gotten older, there is one thought that pervades my thinking about those
doing the fighting. It must have been horrible. Killing and maiming others. Seeing
good friends being killed and maimed. The struggle. The soul-draining fatigue
of it all. Soldiers must have eagerly desired for it to be over. But it
continued, day after day after day. We are in a war. Because we label it
'spiritual warfare' doesn't mean that it's easier to deal with than armed
conflict. If anything, it's harder and longer and has greater consequences. And
there are times when your hope that it will end one day fades. There are times
when you feel the weariness of it all, and you are tempted to give up. And
sometimes, to a degree, you do. And that's the danger of waiting a long time
for Jesus to come back. Being wearied by it all. Tempted to give in to that
weariness. Flagging in hope. And that's why Paul wrote,
And let us not grow weary of doing
good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
And let's face it. There are times when you think that
giving up, even just for a while, will feel so much better. But if you are
going to be prepared for Jesus' other Advent, then you need to be prepared for
a long wait and all that that involves.
Let's move on. It's clear that you are to be busy as you
wait for Jesus' other Advent. Consider those three servants who received their
master's property. The expectation was clear. They were to use what was given
them so that there would be a suitable return for their master. In that last
parable about the sheep and the goats, Jesus gives some examples of how you are
to be busy. There He talks about things like feeding the hungry, clothing the
naked and visiting the sick. You are to be busy using what has been entrusted
to your care so that you can help those in need. And while there is much that
could and really does need to be said about all of that, I will limit myself to
this. When Jesus' returns you will be judged based on what you did. Now, sadly,
the word 'judged' has all sorts of negative associations. So, let's use a
different word. You will be evaluated. That's what Jesus meant when He said,
Now after a long time the master of
those servants came and settled accounts with them.
Jesus is going to evaluate how you did during your days
here, how well you used those talents that He entrusted to your care. He's
going to take a look at what you busied yourself with. Now, consider, - and
this is where the word 'evaluate' is better than 'judge' - Jesus evaluated the
two servants and gave them high praise.
Well done, good and faithful
servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter
into the joy of your master.
Don't make Jesus into some harsh taskmaster who only points
out your faults. He will give praise to good and faithful servants when He
returns. Here are two things to remember as you anticipate that. First, Jesus
will not compare you to someone else. He didn't say to the second servant, 'Well,
you only got Me two talents. The other guy got me five.' He praised both with
the same words. Comparing yourself with someone else is the route either to
pride, which is so deadly, or to despair, which is equally deadly. Then,
second, Jesus didn't say,
Well done good and perfect servant.
This is a word for you perfectionists out there. Jesus will
not be looking for perfection. He knows that He will not find it. He will be
looking for Christians who are endeavoring, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, to
live as becomes His followers. Make sure your expectations of yourself match
His.
Now, here's something very significant when it comes to
understanding Jesus' evaluation. I find it fascinating that in these three
parables Jesus says nothing about belief. There is no, 'Did you place your
faith in Me?' Where is the focus? It's on what they did or didn't do. There is
a lie going around in Christian circles that what we do isn't all that
important. As long as we believe in Jesus, it's all good. Well, it seems that
Jesus would disagree with that. To say it starkly, according to what Jesus says
here, you will pass His evaluation, that is, you will be saved, by your works.
There will be those who, according to Jesus,
will go away into eternal
punishment.
And why is that? They didn't feed the hungry or clothe the
naked or visit the sick. They will end up in hell because of what they failed
to do. Others enter into eternal life expressly because they did those sorts of
things. They are saved because of what they did. I am not downplaying the
crucial importance of faith in Jesus. No, rather, I am trying to stress the crucial
importance of good works. According to Jesus, you will not be saved without
them. God forbid that any of you would fail to meet His expectations.
Up to this point all I've done is tell you what you need to
do or not do. I have told you not to give in to the weariness, to be prepared
for the inevitable evaluation, don’t compare yourself to others, to do good
works. This has been the 'Law' part of the sermon. Now, I need to preach the
'Grace' part. So, let me remind you that nothing works unless God blesses. So,
if you are going to be ready for Jesus' other Advent you will need God's
blessing. You cannot do this on your own.
So, how do you get that blessing? This is where I tell you
what I usually tell you. You need to pray. Honest prayer is simply a way of
saying, 'Father, I know that my life won't work without You. You must bless if
I'm going to succeed.' So, pray. Deeply aware of your inability, pray that the
Father would be gracious to you and bless you. Pray that you would understand
your own heart when it comes to these things. Pray for that so that if you
really are working at being a good and faithful servant you would know that and
be encouraged by that. Or if you aren't working at that, then that you would
know that too so you can repent of your sin. You need to pray. And it may be
that for some of you your prayer needs to begin with, 'Father, I'm not very
good at this prayer thing. Please help me to pray.' So, pray because the Father
is eager to bless you.
It's here that I'm supposed to end. But instead I'm going to
add to that regular reminder. The most important way to receive the blessings
of God is by being here on Sunday mornings. Something unique happens here once
Todd, on our behalf, responds to God's kind invitation to meet with Him. This
is when and where we enter God's heavenly presence. This is when and where He
speaks to you and you speak to Him in a way that doesn't happen at other times
and other places. This is when and where your soul is fed by the preaching of
the Word and the sacrament of the Supper. This is the time and place to receive
great blessings from God. So, if you would be blessed by God and thus be
prepared for Jesus’ return, be here on Sundays ready to worship, ready to meet
with God.
There will be another Advent. Jesus will return. It's just a
fact. With that in mind, this has been my goal for this sermon. I want all of
you to understand what's involved in that other Advent and thus, unlike so many
at Jesus' first Advent, to be ready.