| Sermon | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
To download this video, press here to go to the download page. You may need to scroll down to see the download button. |
Download Service Folder | Download Bulletin | |
Sermon for Advent 2
Romans 15:4-13 + Luke 21:25-36
You see leaves beginning to bud on the trees in the spring and, even if you don’t know on what date summer begins, you know summer is near. Not right on top of us yet, but near. You see Christmas trees and lights and ornaments and decorations being put out on display at Walmart, you know November is near. You see those same decorations going up around your neighborhood and city, you hear Christmas music playing on the radio, and in the stores, you know Christmas is near. Not right on top of us yet, but near. Even if you didn’t know what day Christmas fell on, you could tell by all those signs that it’s coming soon. But, the truth is, even if Christmas came upon you suddenly and you weren’t ready, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, would it? Life would go on. There are things we like to do on Christmas day, but nothing, nothing that must be done.
Oh, but you must be prepared for Jesus’ second Advent, for His coming at the end of the age. You must get yourself and your house and your heart in order, before He arrives, because once you see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory, either you’re ready or you’re not. Jesus, the Son of Man, wants you to be ready. And so, in His mercy, He has mentioned certain signs to be looking for that will let Christians know He is coming very soon.
I say that He’s letting Christians know, even though the signs will be there for all to see. It’s just that only Christians will care what Jesus has to say, and will interpret the signs correctly and prepare for the day of Christ’s coming. That day will come upon the rest of those who dwell on the earth like a snare, Jesus says, that suddenly snaps shut on an animal when it steps on the trip-wire. So listen to what your Lord says, and watch for the signs of His advent.
Earlier in Luke 21, Jesus speaks of wars, rumors of wars, nation rising up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, famines and earthquakes and pestilences in various places. Fearful sights and great signs from heaven, leading up to His advent. Those things existed even before Jesus’ first advent, and they have been around on and off for this entire New Testament period. Does that keep them from being signs that He is coming soon? Of course not. Because, every time you hear of a war, or a famine, or an earthquake, or a pandemic, it should now serve a new purpose. Instead of striking fear in the hearts of God’s people, instead of causing you to wonder whether or not God is in control, all these things have been turned into reminders and signs that Jesus is coming back, and that this world is not meant to be Paradise or our permanent home. The creation groans all around us, as in birth pains, and it’s only going to get worse until the moment when the Son of Man comes in a cloud with power and great glory. Everything you see here will pass away. So don’t get too attached to it!
Then we come to the signs in the heavens and on the earth that Jesus mentions in our Gospel. There will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars. And on the earth there will be distress and anxiety among the nations, and the sea and the waves will roar. And men will lose heart from fear and dread of the things that are coming on the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
In another place Jesus describes the signs in the heavens this way: The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light. The stars of heaven will fall. What exactly is Jesus talking about? Is it natural but uncommon things like eclipses, and comets, and meteorites? It could be. He could be talking about natural, regularly occurring phenomena that believers are to see as something more. Or, He could be talking about extraordinary phenomena in the heavens that no one has seen yet, or even miraculous phenomena where God does something entirely unnatural and contrary to nature up there in the heavens. Which is it? I tend to think that we have yet to see some of the greater signs in the heavens. But each and every thing that happens up in the sky that’s out of the ordinary should cause us to pause and remember, all this will pass away, so don’t get too attached to it. Jesus is coming soon.
Jesus mentions some signs on the earth as well. In our Gospel He talks about distress and anxiety among the nations, and the sea and the waves will roar. And men will lose heart from fear and dread of the things that are coming on the world. In another place, He says that lawlessness will increase, and that the love of most will grow cold. These things have all been going on for a long time, here and there, but it seems to be increasing as the numbered days of the earth become fewer and fewer. I think we haven’t seen the worst of it yet. But whenever you see distress among the nations, or hurricanes, or tsunamis, or people dreading the future, or people behaving wickedly and celebrating wickedness—don’t be disturbed by these things. Let them remind you that all this will pass away. Jesus is coming soon.
There are other signs Jesus talks about in other places that we won’t spend much time on today, things that will happen within the Christian Church itself before He returns—false doctrine running rampant throughout the Church, false teachers everywhere, a great rebellion within the Church against the doctrine of Christ, the rise and the revelation of the Antichrist. Can anyone claim that these things haven’t happened yet? As for the Antichrist, remember that he isn’t a single man who will appear somewhere as a secular leader or as a government official. The Antichrist arises within the temple of God, within the Church. He pretends to follow Jesus, but in reality, He creates a fake version of Jesus while leading people away from the true Jesus, claiming that his own words and his own teachings are infallible, and that he is the head of all Christians. All the descriptions of him in the Bible can be reasonably applied to the Roman papacy, but also to the widespread rebellion against the Word of God that has captivated most of the Christian churches in the world, where the word of man trumps the Word of God, where Jesus is turned into a political activist for whatever agenda men might have, where the good news of justification by faith alone in Christ is substituted with a different kind of message.
Even if we can’t say with certainty that some of the signs Jesus foretold have definitely happened, what we must not do is interpret the signs in such a way that someone might say, “Oh, Jesus can’t come yet, because such and such hasn’t happened yet.” That’s very dangerous. The signs are not so clearly stated that we can say for sure they haven’t happened yet. They’re given in prophetic, somewhat mysterious terms for a reason, so that we don’t dare allow the devil to convince us that it’s safe to sin for a while longer, safe to ignore God’s Word for now, since Jesus surely won’t come back today. The fact is, He may return today. So be ready!
And even before He comes, when these things begin to happen, stand up straight and lift up your heads, for your redemption is drawing near! When you begin to see any of the signs Jesus has talked about, rejoice! Your redemption is near!
Let’s talk about redemption for a moment. The Bible talks about redemption in three different ways. It talks about our redemption that was accomplished by Jesus’ death on the cross, where He paid the price of His holy, precious blood for our release from sin, death, and the devil. Then it talks about our redemption when we are brought to faith in Christ and are actually brought into His kingdom. Finally, as in today’s Gospel, it talks about the redemption that is still to come, when Jesus returns to take us, body and soul, out of this dying world into His eternal kingdom. That’s what the signs in the heavens, and on the earth, and in the Church, are all pointing us to. So don’t be disturbed by them. Be encouraged by them! When you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near…Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
But, a final warning, be on your guard, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you unexpectedly. For it will come like a snare upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Be on your guard. If Jesus’ word is the only thing that won’t pass away, why allow yourself to be weighed down by everything that will? If you’re not looking up, looking up at the signs of Jesus’ coming, looking up to heaven from where He will come, then you’ll be caught looking down, focused on the things of this world, like fun, like pleasure, like all the things we have to do to get by in this life. “I can’t go to church, or listen to God’s Word, or take the time to learn His teachings, because I have to work, all the time, because I have all the cares of this life to attend to.” Well, there are plenty of cares to attend to. But if they all come before God and His Word, and, ultimately, before your own soul, then, as Jesus says, “that day will come upon you unexpectedly.” And then many will realize with eternal regret, “In my pursuit of happiness here on earth, I neglected the most important thing of all: the pursuit of happiness after this earth is destroyed.”
Therefore, Jesus concludes, always watch and pray, that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will take place and to stand before the Son of Man. Always watch. Always pray. Always trust in the Lord, and yearn for His coming. And the Son of Man will see to it that, when He comes in glory, you will not be destroyed with the rest of mankind. You, together with all believers, will be standing before Him safe and sound, forever. Amen.
