What to Do While We Wait: Anticipate

Introduction

What an incredible truth that we celebrate as Christians: Joy to the world - the Lord has come! As we conclude our time this advent season, we’re going to look a different direction this morning. Traditionally in advent, we celebrate the coming of Jesus and the various prophecies concerning His coming, the themes surrounding His life, and the stories of Christmas throughout Scripture. Today, we’re going to examine the opposite end of advent. Last Sunday evening we had a wonderful time of worship as our children and students helped lead us through the Christmas story and we saw with our own eyes the excitement of Jesus’ birth as the Savior had come. One of the things that was stressed in our time of worship, though, was that the promise in Scripture to the church is not only that Jesus came but also that He will come again!

How many of you are familiar with Isaac Watts’ version of “Joy to the World?” Joy to the World is a beloved Christmas tune and one that is sung in nearly every church at least once in December! Did you know that the song is not specifically in reference to Jesus’ birth, though? Before you grab your tomatoes and pitchforks, look with me at the lyrics of the song.

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room And heaven and nature sing”

Whenever Jesus came, as we examined last Sunday in Isaiah 53, Jesus wasn’t received as king… He was rejected. He was despised. People didn’t prepare Him any room - in fact there was no room for this Jesus. The song continues in the 3rd verse with an even stronger statement.

“No more let sins and sorrows grow Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found”

No more let sins and sorrows grow… Whenever you and I look to our left and right, what do we see? Sins and suffering! The curse of Genesis 3 is still in full effect everywhere we go. Verse 4 adds to the confusion

“He rules the world with truth and grace And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness And wonders of His love”

He rules the world… Whenever Jesus came the first time, He came as the suffering servant. What is Jesus doing presently? He is ruling and reigning. We know that God raises nations up and He lowers nations down to reveal His glory and sovereign power.

So what is this beloved hymn talking about? It’s talking about the second coming of our Lord and Savior. So why do we sing this song at Christmas? Because you don’t have a second coming without a first coming. You don’t have a reigning king without a suffering servant. Christmas is almost always tied to looking backward but during Advent we look backward and forward. We look back at what Jesus did. We rejoice and give thanks because of His first coming… But we can’t always keep our eyes in the rearview mirror. What would happen if you drove down I-44 to Springfield only looking in your rearview mirror? You’d crash your car, and you probably wouldn’t make it very far before that happened. Why? Because your focus isn’t on what’s in front of you. A car’s rearview mirror is relatively small compared to your windshield. Likewise, we must look back as Christians and be reminded of God’s faithfulness and promises… But we can’t just keep our eyes in the rearview. We press forward with our eyes focused on Jesus and we eagerly anticipate His return. We keep our eyes on Jesus and on the mission He has called us to join Him on.

Let’s read this morning out of the book of Acts in Acts 1:4-14

Acts 1:4–14 CSB

4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.” 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem—a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they arrived, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14 They all were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Again, in this season of Advent we celebrate the coming of Jesus. We also look ahead to His return, to His second coming! You see in your outline that today we’re going to be looking at our response to the certainty of Jesus’ return. While we don’t know when that will be, in the mean time we can be 3 things:

Be Certain of Your Standing (4-8)

Over the last 2 years, many things have changed. How many of you like change? For the majority of us, change is hard! We don’t necessarily enjoy it and whenever you have a lot of it in a short amount of time, you can get anxious and nervous about just about everything in your life. It is estimated that 1 in 3 American adults are displaying signs of clinical anxiety and depression today. People have more but are less certain, happy, content, and hopeful regarding where they are at and where they are going. This is even true of people who attend church! We are living in uncertain times and in a season of uncertainty everywhere we look, we need an anchor to hold us firm in the storm. We need to be certain of something.

What are some things that you are certain of? Kids, you learn in school at a young age that 2 + 2 = 4. You can be certain that 2 + 2 will always = 4. Couples, you can be certain that your spouse loves you. All of us can be certain that eventually we’re going to get something called snow in the months to come because winter in the Ozarks means you get snow. We can be certain of somethings in life - even in a season of uncertainty. The most comforting thing that you can be certain of is that God is faithful to His promises and He is with His children. God is good. God cannot lie. God is faithful, friends!

We read in Acts 1 a promise from Jesus for His followers. He promises them that they will be filled/baptized with the Holy Spirit and that He will impart His power to them as they witness for Jesus throughout the world. The promise from Jesus was that they would not be alone. The command was to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come. What’s the problem here? As humans, we don’t like to wait. We’re a society that’s going going going and sometimes even the microwave is too slow for our liking! We also don’t always like to follow instructions. Yesterday, millions of people in our country celebrated Christmas and opened presents of different shapes and sizes. Leading up to Christmas, there can be some temptations. We walk past the Christmas tree and we see presents wrapped below. We walk past mom and dad’s room and see some wrapping paper and amazon packages nearby and the temptation to sneak a peak creeps into our mind. Why is this the case? In part, because we naturally disobey rules as humans. We like to be our own person and we like to do things on our time, and not on others. With Christmas, though, you know that eventually you will get to open the presents. Eventually your waiting will come to an end. What Jesus asks His disciples to do is difficult. He says to stay in Jerusalem and wait. Whenever we wait there can be two extremes that we fall into: On the one hand we might think that God has forgotten about us or we might press ahead because we’ve simply grown tired of waiting or because we think that we know best. We think either that God doesn’t care or that we don’t need God’s help. We either forget or we rush. Waiting is hard! Friends, God has a purpose in your season of waiting. While these disciples were waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit, if you are a Christian this morning, you’ve already been filled with the Holy Spirit. You are sealed today. Therefore, even in your season of waiting you know that you are not alone. God has not abandoned you. You can be sure of whose you are right now despite how you might feel! As one pastor put it, “Salvation isn’t a feeling… It’s a position.” Feelings change - Jesus doesn’t. How can we be sure of this? Because Jesus promised to send His Spirit.

The disciples were a little confused about this promise, though. They immediately ask Jesus if this means that He is going to restore the kingdom of Israel at this point in time. The disciples ask if Jesus is going to kick out the Romans and usher in a period of prosperity and power for the nation of Israel… They clearly weren’t interested in waiting too long! Look at how Jesus answers in verses 7-8. He doesn’t say that they’re crazy or wrong. He simply says, “It’s not for you to know.” We often want all of the information and all of the answers. I’ve heard many people say that they just want to know the blueprint for their life. They want to know how everything will work out in the end. They want to know what God has in store from His view. On one hand we’d all like to have answers to our problems and questions. Why did this event happen? Why am I sick? What is the purpose for this or that? But if we had all the answers, why would we need to have any faith? We see a definition of faith in the book of Hebrews in Hebrews 11:1

Hebrews 11:1 CSB

1 Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.

The proof of what is not seen. What does this mean? Even if you don’t have the answer that you’re looking for, you can still have faith in God. You can still be confident in His plan and His character. You can still be sure that you are His! Jesus says that no one knows when this time will come. Contrary to what the latest person says on CBN or at Barnes and Noble, no one knows when Jesus is coming back. People get wrapped up into signs and stars and they predict dates that come and go. Jesus says that only the Father knows. That we don’t need to know. If we don’t need to know that information, what do we need to know? What does Jesus conclude with in this text? A word of encouragement. Help is coming. Reinforcements are on the way. A mission has been given and a challenged has been raised. Jesus shares with them that they will be His witnesses. The Greek word for witnesses is the word martes or where we eventually get the word “martyr” from.

Have you ever considered why Jesus’ disciples and other followers were willing to lay down their lives simply for being a follower of Jesus? Because they were certain that they belonged to Jesus. That they had been adopted into God’s forever family. Did you know that in the Roman world, adoption brought about a complete change in the life of the adoptee? Say that you were formerly the son of a criminal and you had a large sum of debt that you owed. Whenever you were adopted you gained the name and title of your new father. Your previous debts, history, and family were gone. You were a completely new person. Now, whenever you and I were walking as children of darkness, we were not only lost, we were bound for eternal separation from God due to our sin. Yet, if you are a Christian, God adopted you into His forever family. Not because you were so good. Not because you were deserving. But because God is rich in mercy and loved you! Friend, be certain of your standing this Christmas season. You can be certain of your standing not because of the intensity of your faith but because of the object of your faith. We all waver in our faith… Even in the Christmas season, we’re prone to wander! Yet, the strength of our faith doesn’t save us. Take the first passover in Egypt when the Angel of Death passed over the homes of the Israelites with blood on the doorpost. This was a serious moment in time! DA Carson gives the illustration that a father has only one son and he puts the blood on the doorpost but he is scared at the prospect of losing his only son. Another father has multiple sons and puts the blood on the doorpost and has full confidence that the Lord will provide. Both families follow through but have differing intensities of their faith… What saved their oldest son? Their level of faith? No. The blood on the doorpost. Their faith in the Lord. Not the amount of their faith in the Lord. Friend, have faith in Jesus and be certain that you belong to Him. Watch Him move in your life and follow His plan for you!

Be Optimistic About the Future (8-11)

Because we know that Jesus is coming back, we should naturally be optimistic about the future. We’re living in a world that seems to be getting darker and darker, though. How can we be optimistic about the future whenever there is uncertainty, confusion, division, and violence rising left and right? For one, because we know that we are apart of a kingdom that is not of this world. We know that we’re not citizens of this world - we’re just passing through. Ultimately, we can be optimistic about the future not because we’re naive or in a bubble, but because of Jesus’ promise to His bride.

Matthew 16:18 CSB

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

Jesus promises to build His church. Jesus is faithful to His promises and doesn’t lie. He doesn’t say that He’ll maintain His church or that the church will merely survive… He says that He’ll build it. He doesn’t say that you and I will build it - it’s His power, friends! What is our responsibility as His adopted children? Simple: To use the power He has given to us! Acts 1:8 gives us a template for the entire book of Acts. We see the Gospel first go out to Jerusalem in chapters 1-7, then Judea and Samaria in chapters 8-12, and throughout the Roman empire in chapters 13-28. We have a role to play in this task. We are still His witnesses today. I’ve heard some people say something along these lines, “I’m a Christian and I’m just ready to go to heaven.” This world is full of suffering and sin. This world isn’t our home - I’m ready to go to heaven. Why does God not take us home immediately after we’re saved? Seriously, think about this. If heaven is as great as the Bible says that it is, why does God not take us to heaven immediately after we are saved? Because He has a mission for us while we’re here. He put breath in your lungs this morning with a purpose. He woke you up this morning with a purpose. He brought you here with a purpose. The church exists to be an outpost in enemy territory. To be a beacon of light in a sea of darkness. We’re fighting a battle but we read in Scripture that the war has already been won!

1 Corinthians 15:57 CSB

57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

If you’re a Christian, you have every reason in the world to be optimistic about the future because Jesus won the victory and you’re in Him. There is no condemnation awaiting you! Therefore, you and I can eagerly await His return. But until He comes back we have to realize that we have work to do. We see that Jesus ascends back to heaven and 2 men appear and tell the disciples to stop staring and start serving. Jesus is coming back, stop looking into the sky and start looking to your neighbor and telling them the truth of the Gospel!

It’s easy to get a little hung up over the details and events regarding Jesus’ second coming. These messengers say that Jesus will come back the same way that He went up. Does this mean that His second coming will be some sort of secret event where only some people are aware of it? Revelation 1:7 strongly disagrees

Revelation 1:7 CSB

7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. So it is to be. Amen.

Every eye will see Him. What about those who rejected Jesus? They’ll bow their knee. What about those who persecuted the church? They’ll bow their knee. What about those who shut churches down and threw Christian leaders in prison? They’ll bow their knee. Why do we have every reason to be optimistic and zero reason to fear today? Because:

Jesus is on His throne

Nothing takes the King by surprise

Jesus is coming back as the Roaring Lion

The great CS Lewis has long been a favorite of mine and his mind has captivated millions of Christians and non-Christians alike over the last few decades. CS Lewis wrote many books but his Chronicles of Narnia series might be his most well known work. In the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis drops this truth bomb in reference to Aslan, a picture of Jesus.

“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”

What is Lewis arriving at here? The first coming of Jesus was as the innocent baby who would take our sins upon Himself. His second coming will be whenever He comes to judge. Wrong will be judged. Sorrow and suffering will be no more. Death will die. Eternal life will come. You and I have every reason to be optimistic about our future not because of what’s going on today, but because of who holds tomorrow. We must be optimistic because we know that Jesus is coming back.

Be United with Others (12-14)

Because we know that Jesus is coming back and because we’ve been adopted into God’s forever family, we are called to be unified as believers. Unity is hard to achieve, as we talked about a couple weeks ago, but if Jesus has changed your relationship with God vertically, He is changing your relationship with God’s children horizontally. During the Christmas season we give to ministries like the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering in order for the Gospel to be shared. Giving is great and we’re all called to give, but giving isn’t where it stops.

Oswald Smith once said this, “We talk of the second coming whenever half the world has never heard of the first.” Church, our work is not yet done. Our salvation is secure. We have hope in our King. We know that He is for us. We belong to Him… Yet, His mission is still active for us. We read in Acts that the early church was of one heart and mind. They were united in prayer. There were about 120 believers at this point and we see that they were fervently praying and united through their faith in Christ. As you see the book of Acts unfold, you see these believers pray consistently and as they pray, they are united. As they are united, the Lord provides and brings about a great harvest. Lots of people talk about church growth and how we want more people to come to church and more people to do this and that… We talk alot about things like that, but what are we doing about those things? What are we doing about people who are lost in our families? What are we doing about people who don’t attend church in our sphere of influence? What are we doing about discipling those who are new to the faith? What can we do? Acts 1 gives us a great place to start: We pray. Donald Whitney in his book on Spiritual Disciplines says, “Jesus expects us to pray.” How would you rate your prayer life today?

We can come together with our brothers and sisters in Christ and we pray. We pray for our congregation. We pray for our community. We pray for our nation. We pray for our world. As we come to pray, we follow Jesus’ example and we pray that God’s will would be done and that we would be conformed to His plan. Think about what happens whenever the prayer of every member of First Baptist Salem becomes this? What would happen to our community if 250 people said, “Lord here I am, mold me to what you want, empty me of myself, and use me to further your Kingdom.”

Charles Wesley once said, “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on Earth.”

Friend, what do you desire most of all? I pray that as we enter a new year that our desire for God’s will and God’s glory would increase 10 fold and that we would get ourselves out of the way and allow ourselves to be humble vessels for our King to use.

Conclusion

The Christmas message is simple: Christ has come. Many people in our world know this part of the message. The story continues, though. We read in Scripture that Christ has come and that Christ will come again. We find ourselves living in the in-between period - the already but not yet. What will you and I do each day to tell people about these twin realities? What will you and I do to bring about Christ’s Kingdom on earth? Jesus isn’t looking for part-time help, He has enough of that. Jesus isn’t looking for more bench warmers, He has enough of those. Jesus isn’t looking for more people to add church to their calendar, He has enough people who do that.

Jesus is looking for people who are sold out for Him. He is looking for active participants. He is looking for witnesses. He is looking for people to prioritize Him above all else!

Friend, come to Jesus Christ today. His arms are open wide. He will save you. He will change you from the inside out. The Christmas message is just as true now as it was 2000 years ago. God loved the world so much that He sent forth His Son to save His people from their sin. Christmas shares with us the beginning of a rescue mission that runs from Bethlehem to Golgotha. From cradle to cross. From womb to tomb. What have you done with Jesus Christ? Maybe you’re here this morning and this is all new to you! If that’s you, praise the Lord. I hope that you would come to understand what Jesus did on your behalf as the God-man came to die for you on the cross. Maybe you’re here this morning and this is the 1000th time you’ve heard this message. If that’s you, don’t harden your heart to the Gospel. I was at the hospital earlier this week and there was a man who was 80 and on his death bed… He had heard the Gospel message thousands of times and his wife was a Christian. Yet, there he was on his death bed and he wanted nothing to do with Jesus. If you’re here this morning, do business with Jesus while there is still time. What better time to trust in Him as your Lord and Savior than the day after Christmas?