Sermon Title- “Prepare for Two Advents”

Sermon Subject: We prepare to celebrate the past event of the birth of Jesus and the future event of the Second Coming of Jesus

Scripture- Isaiah 64:1-9, Psalm 80, I Corinthians 1:3-9 and
Mark 13:24-37 (Mark 13- The Little Apocalypse)

Date- 01 December, 2002 (First Sunday in Advent)
        During Advent the last two years we did touch on the two advents we prepare for each year. This year we have no choice but to begin Advent 2002 by dealing with the two Advents or comings as our scripture on this first Sunday in Advent outlines both clearly.
        You will also recall that this day also marks the end of liturgical year 2001 and the beginning of liturgical year 2002. The church will remain in the year 2002 until the first Sunday in Advent in December, 2003. This Sunday also triggers a new set of Scripture readings for the year. So Advent in our church triggers a whole series of new beginnings.
The Prophet Isaiah pleads for God to put aside His anger, forget our sins and remember His people- us!
The Psalmist cries out for God to restore us, something we can not do for ourselves on our own merits, and to let His face to shine upon us so that we may be saved.
        Paul in his first letter to the believers at Corinth, the Corinthians, speaks of the Son of God, the Christ, in the past tense. So He has already come. We can only celebrate the coming of Immanuel, God with us, in the past. This is the first advent or coming, the birth of Christ. This baby is God incarnate, the spirit of the creator dwelling in one of the creation. We are told by Paul that God has been faithful and has called his people to him through His Son and that Jesus can keep us blameless till the end, till Jesus is revealed on His Day- the. Second Coming.
        Then we come to the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 13, which is sometimes referred to as “the Little Apocalypse”. This chapter earns the nick name because of the calamities it describes preceding the Second Coming of Christ. But it also gives us a glorious picture of Christ returning in power and splendor with Angels to bring to him faithful believers. It is a wonderful word picture that believers would wish to see for themselves. The chapter ends with the statement that only God knows when he will send his Son into the world again. We must remain awake and alert. This does not demand insomnia of us, but is a reminder to stay spiritually alert and active until Christ returns.
        As I read and reread our Scripture for today and wrestled with how to bring it together, several things became clear to me. First, we are dealing with both the first Advent, the birth of Jesus, and the Second Advent, the return of Christ to claim his own. And as I pondered the meaning of each of these events, the second thing became clear to me- both events involve unfathomable love. God knew we could never understand the Creator of all putting his spirit into the body of a new born, helpless infant. But He came anyway. Poor Mary and Joseph, how do you hold in your arms the Holy Spirit of God, much less change his diaper. The answer is love, as we lit our first candle and called it love. The love that poured out of that tiny baby made it a joy to hold him.
        Then at the Second Advent can you imagine the love we will experience from the Master as He calls us to Him in the air? It will be like nothing we have ever felt. But now I wrestled with how to express that awesome love in a new and fresh way. Yesterday morning God showed me the answer through His man, Max Lucado. Max’s devotion for 30 November was based on Ephesians 3:18 where Paul prays that we might have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’ Love. Then Max asked the following question, “When you have pondered the love of God from the cradle in Bethlehem to the cross in Jerusalem, what can you say to that kind of love? When you finally understand that God is saying that He loves you so much, He would rather die than go through eternity without you, how do you react? How can we begin to explain such passion, such love?” Read it again, again.
        As I turned to my second devotional book yesterday morning, the answer on how to react to His Love hit me in the face. This book is written by H.B. London, Jr. and Stan Toler. Their devotion for 30 November is based on Romans 8:38 & 39 where Paul tells us nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. And as a response to God’s Love I say with them the Following, “I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit Power. I have stepped over the line and I have made my decision. I am His disciple, a Disciple of Christ. I won’t look back, back up, back down, back away, let up, let down, slow up, slow down or shut up. My past is forgiven and redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I’m done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, cheap living and small goals. Just give me Jesus. I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, promotions, or popularity. I don’t need to be first, right, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer and labor by power. Just give me Jesus. I won’t give up, shut up or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, paid up, prayed up and preached up for the cause of Christ as I am his disciple. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no trouble recognizing me. Just give me Jesus. Just give me Jesus. Amen.