Our Beliefs : Sermons : Sermon Archive - 2005 : November 27, 2005

Theme: Christ Is Coming! Watch while You Work

Church year occasion: Advent 1

We've all been there. You're sitting in class, and the teacher has to leave the room for a few minutes and tells the students to behave. And, of course, the students hear those words and think, "When the cat's away, the mice will play." Instantly, the troublemaker of the class -- usually a boy -- volunteers as the lookout. The students use that opportunity to do the things they weren't allowed to do when the teacher was in the room. They talk; they run around the classroom; they throw things at each other -- basically anything that they know they shouldn't be doing. But as soon as the lookout yells, "The teacher is coming!" all the mayhem ceases and all the pieces of crumpled paper are whisked off the floor and everyone studiously sits his or her desk like a bunch of angels.

This might seem like a funny picture that brings back good memories of our younger days, but if that's how we live our Christian lives until Christ returns, then we're in trouble. That's why we as Christians need to be encouraged every day. Our Advent services will encourage us to be ready for Jesus' coming. The message today is: Christ Is Coming, so Watch while You Work!

Jesus talks about his return in glory in verses 32-33: "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." Just as the students have no idea when the teacher will come back, only that it will be soon, so no human being knows when Jesus will return either. In fact, Jesus says that even he himself didn't know -- only the Father knows when Jesus will return. That might startle us. Jesus knows everything, doesn't he? Then he would certainly know when he would be coming back. If he doesn't know, does that mean he isn't God? We have to remember that Jesus is the God-man. While he lived on this earth, in his state of humiliation, Jesus didn't make full use of his divine power and glory, and that included his ability to know everything. Now he does because God has given him his throne in heaven and has put everything under his feet. So Jesus right now makes full use of his Godly powers since his resurrection and ascension into heaven. So now Jesus knows full well when he will return -- and he says it will be soon.

But we still don't know when. That might fill us with frustration at times and tempt us to try to figure out when he will return, as many false teachers like Jehovah's Witnesses have done. But in reality it is a blessing not to know when Christ will return. If a teacher told the students that he would return after 15 minutes and 25 seconds, do you think that would help them behave? Just the opposite. They would create mayhem for 15 minutes and 15 seconds, and then get their angel faces on for the teacher's return. It is the same with Christ. He doesn't tell us when he will return because he knows that the devil would use that against us and tell us, "You don't have to be on your best behavior; do what you want. He's not coming for a while anyway." Instead Jesus tells us to watch for him. But Christians are not just to watch; they are also to work for him until he returns.

To show us better what he means, Jesus compares his return to the owner of a house who tells his servants to watch the place and take care of it until he gets back. Listen to how Jesus pictures it: "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." Notice: all of his servants are put in charge as they await his return, and each has a specific task that they are to be doing. The job of being the watchman at the door is but one of many tasks that we have been given. We can probably closely associate it with a pastor or teacher in the church. It is the pastor or teacher's job to constantly remind the others that Christ is coming and to prepare them through the gospel, whether that be in a sermon or in a Bible class or in a classroom or one-on-one. But that doesn't mean that the others don't use the gospel themselves. What a horrible idea! If the only place that you or I hear the message of the gospel is in a church service or Sunday school or Christian Day School classroom, then we're not ready for Christ's return, or at least we are in danger of not being ready. If we don't hear the Word of God every day of our lives, then we are just like those kids who think they can do whatever they want while the teacher is gone and it won't hurt them. But the fact is, it will hurt us. One hour a week in God's Word is not enough -- and some of us aren't even doing that.

But Jesus is talking about more than getting into God's Word at home -- he is telling us to apply the Word in our everyday lives as Christians. Many times we hear the Apostle Paul talk about the body of Christ being a unit. We can focus on the fact that we are all part of one body, and that's good. But if we focus on it to the extent that we try to lose ourselves in that body and not make use of our individual gifts and talents, then we are going directly against God's will. Many times you've heard the phrase that "There's no 'I' in the word 'team.'" That's true enough. A team doesn't need one member trying to take all the glory and power. But there are also many "I's" in the "Communion of Saints" and the "Holy Christian Church." God does want us to use the individual gifts he has given us in his kingdom. If we don't, then we are not being what he wants us to be -- "God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10) and "being prepared for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up." (Ephesians 4:12) If we are not doing our jobs as Christians, then we are not ready for Christ's return. Now that might not sound very Lutheran, but it is. And you have to understand this: There is one thing that makes us ready for Christ's return. Faith, and faith alone, is what makes you ready for Christ's return because "the righteous will live by faith." Paul says that many times quoting the Old Testament. But James points out that "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." Luther said it this way: "We are saved by faith alone, but faith is never alone." If the servants of the man's household think that they can do whatever they please while waiting for Jesus' return, they are wrong, dead wrong.

When we look at our lives as Christians, we have to see all the times when we haven't done our individual tasks as we should have. Maybe we have the gift of encouraging others; but if we don't use it when we find out that a fellow member is in need of encouragement, what good is it? If we have the ability to tell others about their Savior, which we all do to a certain extent, but don't use that gift regularly, we are being faithless to Christ. We are shooting spitwads in the classroom and pulling other people's hair instead of doing what we should be doing. Instead, Jesus wants us studiously at our desks doing our work. Or if you take Jesus' parable, we will be doing whatever task Jesus gave us to do until he returns. What task has Jesus given you? Are you an encourager? Then use that gift. Are you gifted in talking to people? Then talk to people about Jesus. Are you gifted in leadership or proclaiming God's Word, then you should be using your gift to support and expand God's kingdom of faith.

But do we always use our gifts? If you're like me, you can come up with plenty of times when you haven't done things God wants you to do. Instead, we can become just like couch potatoes -- being lazy or simply not caring about our assigned duty in God's kingdom, and instead switching from one sinful desire to another, just like channel surfing -- and the whole time we are just serving ourselves. When we look at our Christian lives, we see that we have come far short of using our gifts the way God wants us to and performing our tasks cheerfully. That should lead us to despair. And that's good because we need to recognize how miserable we are in God's eyes as sinners. It shows us how undeserving we are of eternal life. Our sins have separated us from God. Our sins are despicable in his sight. But in that despair of our sins, we look to the cross, and there we find fulfillment. At the cross we see that Christ has forgiven us of every time we've neglected our gifts, every time we have not been watchful for his return, every time we've been seduced by the glitter of this world and have taken our eyes off what is most important -- our saving Triune God and his will for our lives. Jesus did do everything God wants of us. Jesus did perform faithfully his duty under God's law. And then he exchanged places with us. We got perfection and he became sin. We got life, and he got our death. We got heaven and he got our hell. We got it all. So now we can live our lives of service to Christ because we know what he has done for us.

Jesus leaves us with a word of warning, though. "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!' " As we go about our Christian lives, we know that Christ will come suddenly, like a thief in the night, in the twinkling of an eye. Christ does not want us sleeping on that day, but he wants us watchful and hopeful. And when we see the life that we now have through faith in Jesus, we will be ready and we will be about his business until he returns.

Were you ever in a class that didn't act like it was "fun-time" when the teacher left? You are in that class right now because God has declared you to be as righteous as he himself is righteous, so you can await Jesus' return as "perfect angels." And while you wait, you gladly do God's will. Christ is coming! He is almost here! So keep watch! And have fun working in his kingdom until that time. Amen.