What Are You Waiting For?

1st Sunday in Advent, 12/1/19
Isaiah 2:1-5


What Are You Waiting For?
I. The kingdom of Christ is here and now.
II. The peace of Christ endures forever.


“What are you waiting for?” By the tone of my voice, you know that question is actually a mild rebuke. When someone asks you that question with that tone of voice, you know that they’re wondering why you haven’t taken action already. As they perceive the situation, what you need or what you have expressed that you want is right before you and they can’t imagine why you aren’t taking advantage of the opportunity.

Perhaps they’re referring to an employment situation. You have an offer in hand. The compensation is right what you were hoping for and the required skills are a perfect match for you. But you’re hesitating. You’re just not sure. What are you waiting for?

Or, you’re planning a trip that involves flying to the west coast. You’ve been watching the price for airfare fluctuate for a week or two. At this moment, it’s lower than it ever has been, but you hesitate to book it because you can’t help but think that it might go a little lower in the next day or two. Conventional wisdom would ask, “What are you waiting for?”

Today we begin the season of Advent. Historically, Advent is a season of repentance in preparation for the coming of our Savior. And while Christmas is on the minds of most people, we also know that just as Jesus arrived in this world the first time, so he has promised to come again. And so we wait in eager expectation.

But until he comes again on the Last Day, don’t think that things in our world and in the Church on earth are going to get better. Don’t expect a glorious period of Christian influence in our world or a problem-free life as an individual Christian.

But when I state that, I don’t intend to fill you with pessimism. I want you to enjoy life in the Church right now. I want to encourage you to enjoy the blessings that Jesus won for you when he came to this earth.

Those blessings are described in these words of Isaiah 2 this morning. While Isaiah was waiting for the blessings that would occur “in the last days,” you are I are living in them and enjoying those blessings.

So, what are you waiting for? Stop longing for your Lord to provide something better and begin to enjoy the saving blessings you already possess.

Part I.

I recently read a statistic on the number of Christian churches in the United States that are closing. If I remember that statistic correctly, on average, three churches close every day. That’s more than 1,000 per year. Some would state the number is closer to 6,000 per year. That’s a staggering number! Clearly, it’s a matter of huge concern. If the church on earth were a patient in a hospital’s emergency department, we’d be losing him.

It might make you wonder just what Isaiah was seeing in the vision the Lord gave him as described here in our text. Listen to the beginning of that description once again. “In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob.’“

Isaiah refers to mountains. That’s a frequent topic in the book that bears his name. When he refers to them, he’s not interested in earthly geography; he’s making a point about spiritual geography. He’s referring to the Church—the invisible gathering of all those who trust in Jesus. In this vision he saw the Church as the chief mountain. Just what does that mean?

There are all sorts of institutions and gatherings of people on the earth. It’s been that way throughout history. And the larger those gatherings of people become, the more powerful they are. In the world’s history there have been world empires that exerted enormous influence on countless people. Today there are world religions that rival the influence of Christianity. But the Christian Church surpasses them all. It is the chief mountain. Empires have come and gone. Massive world religions still exist. But only one gathering of people will still exist when the last second of time has expired, and that’s the Christian Church.

And notice who comprises that Church. Isaiah sees people from all nations streaming to it. It’s like a river that flows night and day in one direction. Isaiah saw people constantly coming into the Church by faith in Jesus. In Isaiah’s day the Church was largely comprised of people from one small nation that lived between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. But not in the last days. God’s people would be found in every nation on earth, and that invisible Church would continue to grow in spite of evil pressures to limit and destroy it.

And the work of the Church—spreading the good news about Jesus as the world’s Savior from sin—would go on right up until the day of Jesus’ return. Isaiah reports, “The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” Isaiah saw that God’s people would continue to share God’s saving truth, and that would happen without interruption. Even when the Church seems to be at its weakest, it’s still sharing the power of God for the salvation of all people.

And what Isaiah saw 2,700 years ago, we are and will continue to be until the Lord returns. God has fulfilled this vision of Isaiah in us, his Church.

So, what are you waiting for? The kingdom of Christ is here and now.

We’ve come to expect things to get better. For instance, you expect that the next version of your mobile device will perform faster and have more functions than the one you currently use. You expect that the next vehicle you buy will be vastly better than the one you’re currently driving. We all want to upgrade.

But in the Church, things always stay the same. God’s people in the Church always enjoy the same fullness of blessings that Jesus won for them when he came to earth the first time. Life in the Church doesn’t get worse and it can’t get better.

But we tend to think that’s not true. We tend to think that the Church used to be better a few decades ago. While it’s true that the percentage of people in America who claim to be Christian has declined, that doesn’t mean things have gotten worse in the Church. Every person who trusts in Jesus always possesses the fullness of the blessings that Jesus has won for them. They are fully forgiven and heirs of eternal life in heaven. There are no varying degrees in those tremendous blessings. So what are you waiting for? Don’t wax nostalgic over the way things used to be in the Church and don’t let your Christian joy get deflated because Christianity seems to be getting attacked more often and more viciously today than ever before. In the Church, everything is OK. In fact, it’s eternally blessed. Everything in the Church is going exactly as Jesus promised right here in these words of Isaiah. So, what are you waiting for?

Part II.

The closing words of today’s text are quite famous. If you were to go to the United Nations Building in New York City, you would find these words of Isaiah inscribed in stone in the mall that is across the street from that world-renowned building. These are those words, “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.” That’s a lofty goal for the United Nations. Some people would say it’s failing.

I’m guessing many of you are aware that Isaiah wasn’t speaking about earthly peace. It sure sounds like it, though, doesn’t it? He even states, “Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” But recall the setting of this vision. Isaiah saw the Church—the gathering of every person who trusts in Jesus as their Savior from sin. In the Church there is perfect peace. It’s the peace that the angels sang about on the night Jesus was born. It’s the peace that exists between God and the sinner. Our God hates sin. In fact, the Bible even states that he hates all who do wrong (Psalm 5). But he also loves the whole world full of sinners and he reconciled them to himself through the life and death of Jesus. By faith in Jesus, we are forgiven and possess the righteousness or holiness that Jesus came to win for us. That peace exists in the Church. Every person in the Church has that peace. Not even Satan himself can disturb that peace. No earthly power can remove it. No other world religion can claim it. It’s found only in the Holy Christian Church and that Church is you.

So, what are you waiting for? The peace of Christ endures forever.

If you asked people, “What’s the most joyful month of the year?”, I’m guessing December would be the most common answer. Would you agree? And yet it’s also the most stressful month of the year for most people. That’s because we try to make it the most joyful month of the year.

People of God, it already is! It’s the month we’ve chosen to celebrate our Savior’s birth. You can’t make that any better than it is. And no matter what the month of the year, or day of the month for that matter, you live in the peace that Jesus won for you when he came to earth the first time. And now we live waiting for him to return with joy in our hearts that nothing can overcome the Church that Isaiah envisioned here in this morning’s text. People from all over the world are literally streaming into the Church today to join you in praising Jesus as the world’s Savior from sin. So, don’t let the national or world news upset you. Don’t become pessimistic because so many people choose to celebrate Christmas without Christ in it. Stop wondering when things are going to get better. In the Church, things can’t get any better than they are. They’re already perfect because in that Church you possess the peace that Jesus won for you.

So, what are you waiting for? I’ve got something for you now. It’s the return of Jesus to claim you are his own. That’s what this season of Advent is all about. Give him a heart that is prepared for him by living in the light of the Lord and daily joy over your forgiveness which gives you peace. Amen.