The First Sunday in Advent
November 29, 2015
Luke 21:25-36
“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass way, but my words will never pass away. Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Twenty-five days! That’s it! Just twenty-five days! Out of those twenty-five days many of you will spend a good portion of them either working or in school. That leaves you nights and weekends to get done everything that you need to get done in order to be ready for Christmas! There are gifts that need to be purchased and gifts that will need to be wrapped. There are cookies that need to be baked and dinners that need to be both planned and prepared. There are Christmas concerts and Christmas parties that we are planning to attend. For most of us there are many things on our “To Do List,” many things that we need to take care of— if we want to be ready for Christmas.
As you and I, my friends, strive to get done everything that needs to get done in the next twenty-five days it would be quite easy for us to overlook the most important Christmas preparation of all— the preparation of our hearts! That, however, is precisely why we celebrate the season of Advent! The season of Advent gives us an opportunity to take a break from all the other things that need to get done, gather together here in the house of our God and listen— listen to our Lord as He speaks to us through His Word concerning our Christmas preparations.
With that in mind, the sermon series that we will be following for the Sundays in the season of Advent is entitled: Advent Imperatives. On each of the four Sundays in Advent we will look at an “imperative,” a “command,” an “exhortation” from Scripture that will help guide us as we prepare to once again celebrate our Savior’s holy birth.
This morning we begin our sermon series by studying our text under the theme: Advent Imperatives— Be Alert! Here in Luke chapter 21 Jesus Himself reminds us that even as we are preparing to once again celebrate His first advent into this world, so also we need to be preparing for His second advent into this world. In this regard Jesus reminds us of two truths this morning. First, He says to us: Recognize the signs! Secondly, He says to us: Guard your heart!
If you turn to the beginning of Luke chapter 21 you will see that Jesus and His disciples were in the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. It is the Tuesday of Holy Week— just days before our Lord suffered and died on the cross for our sins. As the disciples looked around and admired how the Temple was “adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God” (21:3) Jesus revealed to them that the day was coming when this beautiful, ornate, holy Temple would be completely destroyed. Naturally, the disciples wanted to know when this was going to happen. So, Jesus tells them the signs to look for— signs that will signal the destruction of both the beloved city of Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord. At the same time Jesus uses the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple as a picture of an even greater destruction— the destruction of the world as we know it at the end of the age!
Let’s take a moment to look at Luke chapter 21 and review the “general” signs which Jesus says will signal that the end of the world is drawing closer and closer. Look at Luke 21:8— people will claim that they are the Christ. Look at Luke 21:10— there will be wars on earth. Look at Luke 21:11— there will be natural disasters of all kinds. Look at Luke 21:12-19— the Christian church will be persecuted, but in that persecution God’s faithful children will see opportunities to share their faith. And finally, look at Luke 21:20-24— the beloved city of Jerusalem will be surrounded by her enemies and utterly destroyed.
As you and I look at these signs, my friends, it is not difficult for us to see how these signs have been fulfilled and are still being fulfilled over and over again! Are there people today who are claiming to be the Christ? Absolutely! I think of someone like Rev. Sun Yung Moon, the leader of the Unification Church. A few years ago I saw an expose on television of a Spanish pastor who claims that he is Jesus returned to this earth. Are there wars and natural disasters taking place all across the world? Absolutely! All you have to do is pick up the newspaper or turn on the television to see how these signs are being fulfilled over and over again. There are wars taking place in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and in a number of places in Africa. There are also terrorist attacks taking place in Europe and in Africa, as well as terrorist attacks being thwarted both here in our country and all across the world. When it comes to natural disasters we see fires and droughts, hurricanes and tornados, blizzards and earthquakes taking place on a regular basis. In fact, just this past week I read an article on the Internet that states, “Weather-related disasters such as floods and heat-waves have occurred almost daily in the past decade, almost twice as often as two decades ago… Since 1995, weather disasters have killed 606,000 people, left 4.1 billion injured, homeless or in need of aid, and accounted for 90 percent of all disasters.” People can argue all they want about why all these natural disasters are taking place. To us the reason is clear— Jesus told us that this would happen! Any time we see any natural disaster taking place anywhere in the world we need to recognize it as a sign that the end of the world is drawing closer! Is the Christian church being persecuted? Absolutely! The Christian church is being singled out for persecution not only in foreign countries, but right here in our own country. How many times have we heard that ISIS has singled out Christians for death? And right here in the United States we have seen how Christians have been sued in a court of law and in more than one case they have been fined thousands of dollars. Why? Because they were put into a situation where they felt conscience-bound to stand up for what the Bible clearly teaches. Was the Temple of the Lord in the city of Jerusalem completely destroyed? Absolutely! In 70 A.D. the city of Jerusalem rebelled against the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire responded to this rebellion by laying siege to Jerusalem and completely destroying both the city and its Temple.
Since all of these general signs have been and continue to be fulfilled Jesus says to us today: Be alert! Be alert for the signs which reveal that the end of this world is drawing closer and closer. But especially be alert for the signs which will reveal that the end of the world is imminent! Look at the opening verses of our text, “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”
Just before the heavens are rolled back and Jesus returns in all of His power, majesty and glory, just before the trumpets of God sound and the skies are filled with all of the heavenly angels the “laws of nature” will be “repealed” by their Creator! The delicate balance of the universe will cease and the created world as we know it will start to collapse and literally fall apart! For all the unbelievers, for all who refused to recognize the signs of the end as they are revealed here in Scripture, for everyone who was not alert for Jesus’ second advent into this world these cataclysmic events will deluge them with terror and panic beyond belief. For all the believers, for all those who do recognize the signs, for all those who are alert and watching for the Lord’s second advent into this world the collapsing of creation will cause them to do exactly what Jesus encourages us to do when He says to us in our text: “stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
As the saved children of God we do not need to be afraid when we see the signs of the end being fulfilled all around us. By being watchful and alert we are able to see the fulfillment of these signs as the fulfillment of our Savior’s promise to come back to this earth and grant us the ultimate redemption, the final deliverance from all the difficulties and all the hardships, all the pains and all the sorrows that we endured on our journey through this life. So be alert, my friends! Recognize the signs of the end so that you will always be prepared for Jesus’ second advent into this world!
At the same time, however, you and I not only need to be alert so that we can recognize the signs that we see in the world around us, but we also need to be alert so that we can constantly guard our hearts. Look at what our Savior says to us in verses 34-36 of our text, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
When we are indeed alert, when we are able to recognize the signs which reveal the end of the world is drawing near it would be very easy for even us to feel completely overwhelmed! That is why Jesus commands us and exhorts us to “be on guard,” so that our hearts are not “burdened” or “weighed down” with “dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties pertaining to everyday life.” Do you know what “dissipation” is? I looked it up just to be sure. Dissipation means: “to waste or squander; to spend much time and energy on indulgence in pleasure, especially drinking, gambling, etc.”
Even though we are the saved children of God, we still have that old sinful nature lurking deep inside of us. That old sinful nature is constantly urging us to indulge in all the pleasures that this world so freely offers to us. That old sinful nature is constantly striving to overwhelm us with the cares and concerns, the anxieties and the worries of our everyday life. If we are not careful, if we do not guard our hearts our old sinful nature might be successful in “weighing us down” and “burdening” us— whether it is with the guilt of our sin, a feeling of hopelessness or the illusion that we can indulge our sinful nature for at least a little while because we have plenty of time to “clean up” our life and “straighten out” our heart after we have had a little bit of “fun.”
Unfortunately, the guilt that we feel when we knowingly sin against God can become such a heavy ball and chain around our ankles that we simply give up and stop walking alongside of our Lord. Unfortunately, the feeling of hopelessness that this guilt can bring upon us can lead us to completely lose our focus on the cross— which is the only place where we find freedom from guilt through the forgiveness of sins that Jesus has won for us! Unfortunately, the illusion that we can indulge our sinful nature for now and clean up our life later can be shattered in an instant. That illusion can be shattered by the sudden unexpected end of our own life. That illusion can be shattered by the sudden unexpected return of Jesus to this earth. And then, my friends, well then it will be too late for us to get our spiritual house in order and be ready to meet our Lord face to face.
So be alert, my friends! Guard your hearts, my friends! Listen to your Savior when He commands you, “Be always on the watch and pray”! One of our main goals in life needs to be focused on staying so close to Jesus now — through regular use of His holy Word and His holy Supper— that no matter when our life comes to an end and no matter when Jesus returns to this earth we have the absolute confidence of knowing that we will indeed be able to “stand before the Son of Man” unafraid, unashamed and un-condemned!
Twenty-five days. That’s it! You have just twenty-five days to get done everything that you need to get done for Christmas. Will you be ready? Probably so, but even if you are not ready Christmas will still arrive right on schedule, won’t it.
How many days are left until the Lord closes the final chapter in the history of this world? How many days do you have left until the Lord closes the final chapter in the history of your life here in this world? We don’t know the answers to those questions, do we. Since we don’t know those answers we need to follow the Advent imperative given to us here in our text for today and Be alert! Be alert and recognize the signs that the end of the world is drawing closer and closer each and every day! Be alert and guard your heart so that you are indeed ready for Jesus’ second and final Advent into this world!
To God be the glory!
Amen