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Location:
6425 Jefferson Rd. For
directions, click here.
Jerry
Varnado,
pastor December
1, 2002 This
is first Sunday in Advent, when
we turn our attention to the
celebration of Christmas. Theologically,
Advent refers to the coming Of
God, which of course is an
extremely important
arrival! Jews
in biblical times understood two
purposes for God's coming: 1) to
save, 2) to judge. And
that informs our Christian
understanding of Advent. It has
two dimensions: As
you may know, the early church
expected an immediate return of
Christ. Some 40 years had elapsed
by the time the Gospel of Mark
was written, but Christ had not
come. Civil struggle in Israel
had outlived Roman patience and
many Jews had died in the siege
and destruction of
Jerusalem. At
that time the Christian church
was not only rejected by Jews,
but also persecuted by Rome as
revolutionaries. Added to this
there tremendous confusion, many
false prophets are claiming to be
the Christ. The church not only
experienced persecution, but also
had to live and interpret events
of history that seem to
contradict the expectations of
those who have put their trust in
Jesus. I
would suggest to us that this is
pretty much where we stand. It
has now been nearly 2000 years
and Jesus still hasn't come back.
It is hard to keep your edge for
two millennia. Is He really going
to come back? Our
main text today is from Mark's
gospel, chapter 13. Let's start
at verse 24. Jesus is speaking,
and he's in the middle of a
discourse about what will happen
at the Second Coming: "At
that time men will see the Son
of Man coming in clouds with
great power and glory. And he
will send his angels and
gather his elect from the four
winds, from the ends of the
earth to the ends of the
heavens. "Now
learn this lesson from the fig
tree: As soon as its twigs get
tender and its leaves come
out, you know that summer is
near. Even so, when you see
these things happening, you
know that it is near, right at
the door. I tell you the
truth, this generation will
certainly not pass away until
all these things have
happened. Heaven and earth
will pass away, but my words
will never pass away.
"No
one knows about that day or
hour, not even the angels in
heaven, nor the Son, but only
the Father. Be on guard! Be
alert! You do not know when
that time will come. It's like
a man going away: He leaves
his house and puts his
servants in charge, each with
his assigned task, and tells
the one at the door to keep
watch. "Therefore
keep watch because you do not
know when the owner of the
house will come back --
whether in the evening, or at
midnight, or when the rooster
crows, or at dawn. If he comes
suddenly, do not let him find
you sleeping. What I say to
you, I say to everyone:
'Watch!' " This
is very plain: Jesus said He is
coming back -- and that we should
keep watch. But what does it mean
to "keep watch"? I
think there are three ways to
understand this instruction --
not three options from which we
can choose one, but rather three
aspects of keeping
watch. We
have the tendency to think in
terms of God coming as Jesus 2000
years ago and again at the end of
time. We forget that there is a
present dimension to His
coming. In
John 16:7, Jesus said: In
Luke 17:20-21, Jesus was asked
when the Kingdom God would come
and He responded: I
define the Kingdom of God as "the
reign and rule of God in human
life."
Speaking
through the Ezekiel, God said
that this is part of the purpose
of the New Covenant of the Holy
Spirit: The
Holy Spirit comes to establish
the reign and rule of God -- the
Kingdom of God -- in our lives.
So
we don't have to wait until the
end of time to encounter God. In
fact, that is not a good time at
all to have one's first encounter
with God! God wants to come to us
now, that we might -- in the
present -- experience His love,
grace, mercy and power. He wants
to equip us to live holy lives,
to be His witnesses to the
world. God
came in the person of Jesus to
establish the New Covenant of the
Holy Spirit through which anyone
who would repent and receive
Jesus could personally know God
and live in an intimate
relationship with Him through the
Spirit. Friends,
we need to be alert to His coming
now. We need to keep watch for
His coming as the realization of
the reign and rule of God in our
lives day after day. Second,
the instruction to keep watch is
practical guidance for present
living. Like the servant who
awaits his master's return, the
anxious expectation of His return
is a continual reminder of our
accountability God, prompting us
to be responsible in our present
living. Jesus
gives more detailed of this truth
in Luke 12:42-46: "But
suppose the servant says to
himself, 'My master is taking
a long time in coming,' and he
then begins to beat the
menservants and maidservants
and to eat and drink and get
drunk. The master of that
servant will come on a day
when he does not expect him
and at an hour he is not aware
of. He will cut him to pieces
and assign him a place with
the unbelievers." Accountability
is critical because our flesh is
weak. We build it into most every
aspect and dimension of our
social order, and we need to
build it into our spiritual
lives, as well. Author
Os Guinness tells the story about
a state House of Representatives
in Colonial England two centuries
ago. While the legislature was in
session, a solar eclipse
occurred. Thinking the end of the
world was at hand, several
panicky legislators moved for
adjournment. But one of them rose
and spoke: "If it is not the end
of the world and we adjourn, we
will look like fools. If it is
the end, I should choose to be
found doing my duty. I move, sir,
that candles be
brought." So
keeping watch doesn't mean we
should put on white robes and
constantly gaze into the sky
looking for Him. Rather, to keep
watch means that our commitment,
loyalty and desire to please
Jesus determines how we live our
lives each day. Third
we should understand "watch"
literally. We should live as
though in an instant the shout of
the archangel and the sound of
the trumpet may announce the
return of Jesus to earth. We
should live as though He might
come at any moment in
time. Jesus,
of course, made it clear we
should not speculate about the
time when it will happen. Only
the Father knows the exact
time. Although
observation of events that have
been prophetically announced can
show us when the time is near,
the picture Jesus paints is that
we should live every moment like
it's going to happen the next
moment. If we live that way
knowing precisely when will isn't
really critical -- because we're
always prepared! The
first time Jesus came in great
humility to give His life for the
sins of the world. The second
time Jesus is coming with great
power and glory with the holy
angels to claim His own for the
Kingdom of God. Those who have
put their trust in Him will
eternally share in the joy of
living in the presence of
God. Everyone
else will experience the judgment
of God. My
friends, you do not want His
second coming to be your first
encounter with Jesus. Receive Him
now as Savior and Lord so that
His second coming will bring joy
and peace to your heart, rather
than dread and terror. To
keep watch suggests faithfulness
and loyalty to this Jesus who has
called us to be His ambassadors
to a lost and dying world.
Keeping watch means that when
Jesus returns, He'll find us
doing what He told us to
do. Keeping
watch means being loyal to Jesus
Christ in all we do, endeavoring
to reflect his love and make Him
known in all the
earth. Indeed,
it means living as though we are
already in the presence of the
one for whom we watch.
Gateway
Church gathers
for worship
Sundays
at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
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A
GATEWAY SERMON
Keeping
the watch
Gateway
Church,
Athens GA
(First Sunday in Advent)
Historically
the focus of Advent is not simply
getting ready for Christmas.
Advent means "the coming or
arrival, especially of something
important."
1)
The celebration of the First
Coming of God in the person of
Jesus Christ to save;
2) The anticipation of the
Second Coming Jesus to judge.
Make no mistake. Jesus is
coming back."But
in those days, following that
distress,
"'the
sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give
its light;
the stars will fall from
the sky,
and the heavenly bodies
will be shaken.'
The
reign and rule of God
now"It
is for your good that I am
going away. Unless I go away,
the Counselor will not come to
you; but if I go, I will send
him to you."
"The
kingdom of God does not come
with your careful observation,
nor will people say, 'Here it
is,' or 'There it is,' because
the kingdom of God is within
you."
"I
will put my Spirit in you and
move you to follow my decrees
and be careful to keep my
laws." (36:27)
Our
accountability to
ChristThe
Lord answered, "Who then is
the faithful and wise manager,
whom the master puts in charge
of his servants to give them
their food allowance at the
proper time? It will be good
for that servant whom the
master finds doing so when he
returns. I tell you the truth,
he will put him in charge of
all his possessions.
Be
prepared
Faithful to the
task
An
audio tape of this sermon is
available
free of charge (U.S. requests
only).
Request
a tape by calling
or writing the Gateway Church
office.
Please specify tape number
021201a: Keeping the
Watch.
©
2002 Gerald R.
Varnado