You know the time...

Advent 2019  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Romans 13:11–14 ESV
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Romans 13:
In the Name of Jesus, the Coming King. Amen.
Advent is as old as the promise that God made to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, after they had sinned, that He would send a Savior to undo the curse of death and broken fellowship that they brought upon their heads and ours. That promise was never forgotten by God. Throughout the generations, every time a male child was born, the parents rejoiced that he may be the one. With Abraham, God initiated His holy covenant, and marked it with circumcision, from whence comes the seed that would one day bear Messiah. The prophets proclaimed His coming even as Isaiah speaks of this eschatological time in our Old Testament Lesson today. Not only would Messiah come to save His people from their sins, but He would come to restore the Kingdom to God and His Father. Besides the mark of willfully, purposefully, and lovingly confessing our sins to God the Father and forgiving those who sin against us, the second distinction of Messiah Jesus’ people is their spirit-given ability to watch and to wait. That watching involves patient endurance amid suffering and persecution, and knowing that in the end we will be delivered from all evil and live in the Lord’s presence physically for ever and ever.
In our text today, Paul speaks to the Church at Rome about this hope and exhorts them to live as those called to such hope.

Wake Up

It is easy to forget that Jesus is coming. Our daily schedules are so cluttered with business that our minds are not always focused on the “Things that are above” as the Lord calls us to do. It’s not the same thing as unbelief— where people don’t believe Jesus will come, or that there will be a judgment day. But busyness can be just as much of a sin, perhaps one we are more prone to commit. Are minds are to occupied to focus on the promise. A good example can be seen at this time of the year. Christmas has a lot of trappings that go with it. All are good when approached correctly. But they can be major distractions to what God calls us to do at this time of year. One of my friends, who is a pastor, sent me a “meme” that sums up the issue so well. I want you to ponder this: Jesus is not part of the Story of Christmas. Christmas is part of the story of Jesus. If we don’t have that distinction down, we miss the entire point of not just Christmas, but Advent. Christmas is not about an innocent child (the ONLY innocent one) born and we celebrate it like a birthday. That’s novice, beneath you. No, this is God become man. Christmas is about the glorious Incarnation. About God trading places with you. About this little baby “destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed.” One cannot separate the manger from the Cross, though it is so convenient to do that and lose our witness to the world.
To this kind of thinking, present even in Rome, Paul calls the Church to “Wake Up!” Sleeping just like the disciples were in the garden the night Jesus was arrested. And that “Wake Up” is for now, not for the Day when Messiah does return. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Time is slipping away. We are 2,020 years closer to when the promise was made for Jesus to return. But the distractions and the sin of life have a way of deflating the urgency to which God calls you.
So how is it that we awake?

Work

The Lord calls you to two things: So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Advent watching and waiting should mark our lives at all times, not just during this season. Our Baptism into Christ, the coming one empowers us to do two things: First: To put off; Second, to put on.
Put off, cast aside all of the works of darkness. Advent is one of two penitential seasons in the Church year, the other being Lent. Penitence means confessing your sins. You need to know what they are before you can do this. Paul Lists out some of the works of darkness:
Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy
The World is all about self gratification. But truth be told, we like it too. There is nothing new under the sun. But when we get drunk we hurt our bodies. We may hurt others. We may destroy lives around us. And drunk people cannot focus on Jesus’ coming. Likewise, sexual immorality abounds. Basically anything goes today when it comes to this, not unlike the immoral life of the City of Rome. Did you know that with the Advent of the computer, 50 percent of all men are addicted to pornography today? And those are the Christian men! The general population has even a higher rate! Once that stuff gets in your brain you cannot “unsee” it. It plays on a passion that God created but leads to the abuse of His gift of sexuality. And then there’s quarreling and jealousy. If you really want to see that in action, come to any church. Somehow, we see sins like this as “more acceptable” than the “bad ones”. Wake Up!
Rather, the Lord calls us to cast these off and instead, put on the armor of Light. Armor. You know what that is, right? It’s something you wear in battle. And you are in a war by virtue of your Baptism. When the Lord marked you as His own you jumped ship on the devil. An don’t think it went unnoticed. You are his target. And because of it you are also the world’s target, for the world is his tool. That’s the spirit of “anti-Christ”. Until the beast is destroyed and the dragon thrown into the eternal lake of fire, you have a formidable enemy that prowls around, seeking someone to devour, and the works of darkness make you taste good.
Paul is more specific :
Paul is more specific :
Ephesians 6:13–18 ESV
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
Wake up! Suit Up! And then :

Walk

Walk

With a new mind and a new spirit that God not only calls you to have, but equips you to have.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
That armor is nothing less than Jesus Himself. The one who covers your sins by His blood. The one who calls you by Name. The one who loved you so much that He gave Himself for you. Little baby in the manger? No, fighting warrior of God. The only one who could conquer Satan and win. The only One who could redeem us back to the Father. He enwraps you with His mercy.
He does this for a purpose. That you might walk in His ways, “This is love for God, that we keep His commandments”.
Advent is about two comings. The first one we have already witnessed. Jesus is incarnated, takes on flesh, becomes human, as the Second Adam. Adam sinned, Jesus restores sinners to the Father. But the bigger Advent is yet to come. That Day when evil will be vanquished and we will dwell in God’s presence and the Lamb’s forevermore.
Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus, Come.
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