The Advent of Christ: Then & Now-The Return of the King
The Advent of Christ Sermon Series has been about looking at what the arrival of Christ meant to the Hebrews and what the 2nd arrival of Christ means to you and me now. As we began to connect last night, when Christ came to Earth, he brought with him numerous gifts to mankind; hope, peace, joy, love and many others. The greatest gift of all though, was Him. His humanity and deity, all wrapped up into one, given into the world only to be taken out of it by a sacrifice. The little baby who came in innocent as a lamb, left innocent as a lamb, blood shed and body broken for us. Now, we await The Return of the King.
Our King, who ascended into heaven two millennia ago, will come again in the future to usher in an era of peace. The first time the Christ came as a child; an innocent tiny baby in the humblest of circumstances. When he left, he had been scorned, abandoned, shamed, crucified, died, yet still innocent. Claiming his victory over death, he rose again and then ascended into heaven claiming he would return the same way he left. All in chapter 13 of Mark, Jesus describes what it will be like in the last days leading up to his return.
He tells tales of deceptions, false christs, wars, rumors of wars, natural disasters such as earthquakes and famines. We are told that we will be persecuted and despite our fear of what to say, we will have the words thanks to the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel. We will be hated because of our commitment to Him.
Many will come in His name with claims…many people will come trying to steal us away from Him. He gives us his words to stay strong in, to remain in, watching, ever ready for his return.
Then, Jesus says these words in Mark 13:32-37.
32 “Now concerning that day or hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven nor the Son—except the Father. 33 Watch! Be alert For you don’t know when the time is coming. 34 It is like a man on a journey, who left his house, gave authority to his slaves, gave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert. 35 Therefore be alert, since you don’t know when the master of the house is coming—whether in the evening or at midnight or at the crowing of the rooster or early in the morning. 36 Otherwise, he might come suddenly and find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be alert!”
My friends, we already know that no one knows the day or hour. So, because we do not know when Jesus will return, what are we to do? 4 Time here we are told to watch, be alert, keep watch, be on guard. Something tells me that we are to stay alert and keep watch, not getting lazy in our duties, but always being mindful that we are not sure the exact time he is returning; especially nowadays where it looks as if it is getting much closer to his return. Now is not the time to fall asleep!
We await the second advent of our Lord Jesus. And as we wait, as years travel by ever closer are we getting to that glorious time when he will come again.
Christmas is the time of the year we take to celebrate the greatest gift ever given to mankind. With Jesus, he brought an era of grace and mercy in a time when humans needed it the most. Jesus Christ is the greatest gift anyone could ever get, anytime, anywhere. This is the time of year we reflect on this moment in history when Love entered in the form of a baby…Jesus Christ.
This is the time to take stock of your faith in Jesus. This is the time to take stock of your dedication and obedience to him. This is the time to take stock of your watchfulness to his Second Advent. I would like to read an anonymous poem titled If Next Sunday
If Christ should come next Sunday,
And it may be that He will,
Would the thing that I’ll be doing
Set the Master’s heart athrill?
If the Christ should come next Sunday
Would he find me loyal, true,
In my place with my influence
Doing what He’d have me do?
If the Christ should come next Sunday,
Let’s suppose He came at ten,
Would He hear me answer “present”
In the class I should attend?
If the Christ should come next Sunday,
If He came just at eleven,
Would He find me in His service,
Singing praises unto heaven?
Let’s expand this poem a bit…not to include Sunday only, but to include every day of the week. It doesn’t matter if it’s Sunday or Wednesday or even Friday night…if Christ were to come back at any particular time, would he find you doing what he would have you be doing? Would he find you loving others? Would he find you giving the greatest gift ever?
This time of year is not about the tinsel, Christmas trees or lights. It isn’t about Santa, elves or Reindeer. It isn’t about running around like mad trying to get the perfect gift for someone. The best gift we can give this time of year is the gift of Salvation. Give the gift of Jesus Christ; the gift of faith, love, grace, mercy, hope, joy and peace.
I want to throw a scenario out there for you. Imagine yourself at a Christmas party. At the party there is a gift exchange and, let’s face it, we all love gifts. We like the surprise of what’s inside. We love the fact that we have no idea what it is that we are about to get but we can hardly await the thing that lurks underneath the wrapping paper. Low and behold…it’s a gift you not only don’t need, but you don’t want either. The old joke is the “Christmas Sweater from Grandma”. Imagine the worst gift ever in your mind…something you totally don’t want at all.
Let me pose a question now. Would you refuse that gift? Would you seriously look the giver in the eye and say, “No thanks. I don’t really want it.” No. You’d at least accept the gift and then do something with it later…most of the time I get whatever I didn’t want home and actually find it surprising that I actually now am putting it to good use.
Now, picture a different Christmas party. At this party there is a gift exchange. This time, God…Creator of the Universe…Father of all mankind is at this party. He is the one giving out the gifts this year. Soon you find a box being handed to you. You eagerly tear into wrapping paper, excited what Father God has gotten you. Low and behold upon getting the gift open, you find this note: “My dear child, I Love You. So much so that I want to give you something very precious to me. I want you to have my Son. He is my gift to you…he will provide forgiveness for your sins and allow a path to be opened for a relationship between us. Please accept my gift.” Would you now accept that gift? Or are you going to reject it? This Christmas, accept God’s gift to you. Right now you might not think it may be very useful. Right now you question whether or not it could be put to use in your life. I want to urge you to accept that gift. You might find it surprising later on that it was the best decision you ever made. Even those of us walking the Christian walk today have trouble keeping the gift we’ve already accepted in the driver’s seat. We have trouble handing our lives over to him fully. Friends, you don’t have to bear the burden on you today. The perfect gift is waiting for you today. Would you receive him today and make him Lord of your life?
Our King, who ascended into heaven two millennia ago, will come again in the future to usher in an era of peace. The first time the Christ came as a child; an innocent tiny baby in the humblest of circumstances. When he left, he had been scorned, abandoned, shamed, crucified, died, yet still innocent. Claiming his victory over death, he rose again and then ascended into heaven claiming he would return the same way he left. All in chapter 13 of Mark, Jesus describes what it will be like in the last days leading up to his return.
He tells tales of deceptions, false christs, wars, rumors of wars, natural disasters such as earthquakes and famines. We are told that we will be persecuted and despite our fear of what to say, we will have the words thanks to the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel. We will be hated because of our commitment to Him.
Many will come in His name with claims…many people will come trying to steal us away from Him. He gives us his words to stay strong in, to remain in, watching, ever ready for his return.
Then, Jesus says these words in Mark 13:32-37.
32 “Now concerning that day or hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven nor the Son—except the Father. 33 Watch! Be alert For you don’t know when the time is coming. 34 It is like a man on a journey, who left his house, gave authority to his slaves, gave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert. 35 Therefore be alert, since you don’t know when the master of the house is coming—whether in the evening or at midnight or at the crowing of the rooster or early in the morning. 36 Otherwise, he might come suddenly and find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be alert!”
My friends, we already know that no one knows the day or hour. So, because we do not know when Jesus will return, what are we to do? 4 Time here we are told to watch, be alert, keep watch, be on guard. Something tells me that we are to stay alert and keep watch, not getting lazy in our duties, but always being mindful that we are not sure the exact time he is returning; especially nowadays where it looks as if it is getting much closer to his return. Now is not the time to fall asleep!
We await the second advent of our Lord Jesus. And as we wait, as years travel by ever closer are we getting to that glorious time when he will come again.
Christmas is the time of the year we take to celebrate the greatest gift ever given to mankind. With Jesus, he brought an era of grace and mercy in a time when humans needed it the most. Jesus Christ is the greatest gift anyone could ever get, anytime, anywhere. This is the time of year we reflect on this moment in history when Love entered in the form of a baby…Jesus Christ.
This is the time to take stock of your faith in Jesus. This is the time to take stock of your dedication and obedience to him. This is the time to take stock of your watchfulness to his Second Advent. I would like to read an anonymous poem titled If Next Sunday
If Christ should come next Sunday,
And it may be that He will,
Would the thing that I’ll be doing
Set the Master’s heart athrill?
If the Christ should come next Sunday
Would he find me loyal, true,
In my place with my influence
Doing what He’d have me do?
If the Christ should come next Sunday,
Let’s suppose He came at ten,
Would He hear me answer “present”
In the class I should attend?
If the Christ should come next Sunday,
If He came just at eleven,
Would He find me in His service,
Singing praises unto heaven?
Let’s expand this poem a bit…not to include Sunday only, but to include every day of the week. It doesn’t matter if it’s Sunday or Wednesday or even Friday night…if Christ were to come back at any particular time, would he find you doing what he would have you be doing? Would he find you loving others? Would he find you giving the greatest gift ever?
This time of year is not about the tinsel, Christmas trees or lights. It isn’t about Santa, elves or Reindeer. It isn’t about running around like mad trying to get the perfect gift for someone. The best gift we can give this time of year is the gift of Salvation. Give the gift of Jesus Christ; the gift of faith, love, grace, mercy, hope, joy and peace.
I want to throw a scenario out there for you. Imagine yourself at a Christmas party. At the party there is a gift exchange and, let’s face it, we all love gifts. We like the surprise of what’s inside. We love the fact that we have no idea what it is that we are about to get but we can hardly await the thing that lurks underneath the wrapping paper. Low and behold…it’s a gift you not only don’t need, but you don’t want either. The old joke is the “Christmas Sweater from Grandma”. Imagine the worst gift ever in your mind…something you totally don’t want at all.
Let me pose a question now. Would you refuse that gift? Would you seriously look the giver in the eye and say, “No thanks. I don’t really want it.” No. You’d at least accept the gift and then do something with it later…most of the time I get whatever I didn’t want home and actually find it surprising that I actually now am putting it to good use.
Now, picture a different Christmas party. At this party there is a gift exchange. This time, God…Creator of the Universe…Father of all mankind is at this party. He is the one giving out the gifts this year. Soon you find a box being handed to you. You eagerly tear into wrapping paper, excited what Father God has gotten you. Low and behold upon getting the gift open, you find this note: “My dear child, I Love You. So much so that I want to give you something very precious to me. I want you to have my Son. He is my gift to you…he will provide forgiveness for your sins and allow a path to be opened for a relationship between us. Please accept my gift.” Would you now accept that gift? Or are you going to reject it? This Christmas, accept God’s gift to you. Right now you might not think it may be very useful. Right now you question whether or not it could be put to use in your life. I want to urge you to accept that gift. You might find it surprising later on that it was the best decision you ever made. Even those of us walking the Christian walk today have trouble keeping the gift we’ve already accepted in the driver’s seat. We have trouble handing our lives over to him fully. Friends, you don’t have to bear the burden on you today. The perfect gift is waiting for you today. Would you receive him today and make him Lord of your life?
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