Jesus Is Nearly Here!

1st Sunday in Advent, 11/27/22 Romans 13:11-14 Jesus Is Nearly Here! I. Wake up spiritually. II. Live decently. Can you think of a situation in which you would enjoy a surprise visit? I can think of a few. Your spouse is in the military and is deployed overseas. You know that he or she is scheduled to return next month, but there’s a knock at your front door. You open it and there stands your spouse, and you’re wildly overjoyed. Or, you’re expecting your daughter to arrive home from college for her Christmas break on December 20. But on December 19 you hear keys in the front door lock, the door flies open, and there she stands, a day ahead of time and you’re overjoyed. We thoroughly enjoy those types of surprise visits. But most of the time, that’s not the case. In fact, we’ve come to expect the opposite. Don’t surprise me by just showing up at my door. Don’t pop into my life without any advance notice and expect me to drop everything I’m doing to spend time with you. I have plans and to ignore that fact by visiting me without any prior notice is unwanted and rude. Besides, almost every one of us has this device in our hands all the time which has an app that will show us what our ETA is, and that ETA can be conveyed almost instantly with others. In short, it’s difficult for us to imagine a situation in which we couldn’t avoid making a surprise visit. But there is one visit from someone who will never give us an ETA. And what makes this situation all the more critical is that it’s the most important visit we’ll ever receive. It’s our Lord Jesus’ return to this earth. And by not supplying an ETA he’s not being rude. He’s actually being loving. He wants us to live in constant readiness for him. And the fact that more than 2,000 years has passed since he left this earth means that his return is closer now than ever. It could happen today. The Apostle Paul wants us to realize how near his return is and the urgency that truth creates. Jesus is nearly here! In a sense, he’s on his way. So, it’s critical that we’re ready for him. Paul gives us some advice on what to do. Let’s see what he has to say to us this morning. Part I. A few years ago, I had the privilege of observing the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. I ‘m sure some of you have seen it. What’s so incredible about it is that there is a guard posted at that tomb every second of every day, every second of every night, no matter what the weather. It’s impressive! But at least that duty is shared by an entire group of soldiers. No one soldier is expected to be on duty more than an hour or two at the most. Then another soldier replaces him. In this morning’s Gospel reading, Jesus urged his followers to watch for his return. And he wants us to be watchful all the time because his return could happen at any time, but we have no one to spell us after an hour of two of watching. We have to live our lives, and doing so requires almost all of our time and attention. In fact, we have so many things begging for our time and attention that we’re forced to prioritize. For many of us, family comes first. Think about it. How much time do you spend each day thinking about your family members, caring for your family members, just spending time with your family members? For those of you with young children, it might consume every waking moment. And it can be exhausting, but it has to be done. It’s your responsibility. You love them and you want to do it, but it leaves almost no time for anything else, such as watching for Jesus to return. Another priority is your employment or your career. You have a responsibility to support yourself and your family. Your position is demanding. There are situations in which saying “no” to something at work isn’t an option, unless you want to be unemployed or lose every future possibility for advancement. What’s more, other people are counting on you to do your job. It simply must be a priority, but it leaves little time for watching for Jesus to return. And no one can work at home or in a place of employment all the time. You simply have to find time to unwind and enjoy life. From time to time, you need to get away from it all and get some rest. And you don’t want to be watching for Jesus to return while you’re trying to enjoy yourself, do you? But, in the priorities of your life, where does Jesus fit? If we’re asked that question in a vacuum, we’d quickly respond that he’s number one in our lives, as he should be. But practically, where does he fit? Practically, how much time and attention can we give to watching for his return? And by the way, the Thessalonian Christians did just that. They quit their jobs and sat around waiting for Jesus to return, and St. Paul blasted them for it. Maybe we’re not looking at this correctly. Listen again to St. Paul’s words, “The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” Maybe we need to consider what it means to be ready, to be awake spiritually. It’s having a Christian viewpoint about every aspect of your life. It means to have the return of Jesus in mind as you set about your daily life. It means living each day knowing that tomorrow might not come. It means that you know you could see Jesus returning before the day ends. It means living each day trusting that Jesus is your Savior who will one day appear, glorify your body, and take you to live with him in a new heaven and a new earth. If that’s not a description of your Christian life, then you need to wake up spiritually. Jesus is nearly here! Let’s admit it. None of us is as spiritually awake as we should be. Our sinful nature is constantly lulling us to spiritual sleep. It convinces us that being spiritually ready for Jesus to return today is a waste of time. If we don’t take advantage of every moment we have, we might miss out on something, we’ll fall behind, we’ll pay for it in some way. So, what’s a Christian to do? Live each day in repentance. Recognize the fact that we don’t make the proper use of our God-given time on any given day in our lives. There’s only one person who lived every moment of his life in readiness, and that’s Jesus. He lived every moment of his life ready to sacrifice himself for my sins, your sins, the sins of the whole world. He claimed us as his own, and now we live each day for him by faith in him. And with that faith, we are ready for his return. With that faith we are awake spiritually. So, watch for Jesus! He’s nearly here! Part II. Jesus once stated that as the day of his return gets near, the world will become increasing evil. I’ve heard it said often that we are living in those last days when evil abounds. And, while Jesus is pleased when his people recognize the truth of what he said about evil, he’s displeased when that evil world rubs off on his people. And he’s dismayed when his people become submerged in it. That’s why he caused St. Paul to include this encouragement for his people of all time, “So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.” Paul provided that list of evil deeds for the Roman Christians. Apparently, some of the Christians in Rome indulged in these deeds of darkness. To what extent, we don’t know. But I’m certain that our Lord wants each of us to use this list to create our own. As you do that, ask yourself, “Are there certain sins in my life which pull me away from Jesus and from focusing on his return?” To the extent that I indulge my sinful nature, I am losing my focus on Christ. I’m diverting my attention away from watching for his return and focusing on how I can indulge my sinful nature. In other words, my life becomes more about pleasing my sinful self than living for my Savior. And that’s spiritually dangerous. Even worse, are there sins in my life that have the potential of destroying my faith in Jesus? Has my sinful life taken over my heart and pushed Jesus to the curb? Is there no longer any time or room in my life for following Jesus? If so, sound the spiritual alarm! You need a spiritual rescue right now. Talk with a Christian friend or your pastor. It can’t wait a moment longer because Jesus is almost here. And then do what Paul encourages, “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” Repent of your sin, trust in Jesus for forgiveness, and live in the holiness that he won for you. By faith in Jesus, you are wrapped in the righteousness of Christ. The risen Lord Jesus lives in you and empowers you to live in holiness, not in deeds of darkness. Jesus is nearly here! Live decently! Who doesn’t want to live that way? We all want to live decently out of love for Christ. But, in a way, he’s asking more of you than you can do. We’re prone to indecency, not decency. Jesus knows it. That’s what his forgiveness is all about. He suffered the indecency of the cross to forgive us and make us pure in his sight. So that now, when he tells us to live decently, we are equipped and empowered to do so because Christ rose from the dead and lives in us. He empowers decent living. Jesus is nearly here! It’s true—we don’t like most surprise visits. But his is one that will thrill us eternally. Jesus is nearly here! Watch for him! Amen.