Waiting on the Lord

How many of you are going to a New Year’s Eve party? How many of you are hosting a New Year’s Eve party? Well if you are going to one or hosting one, I want you to imagine with me that you have been invited to a New Year’s Eve party by a friend. It’s got all the snacks you could ever want. There are fun New Year’s Eve themed party games that everyone is participating in. It’s got the TV on in the center of the room featuring the famous countdown to the ball drop in Times Square. You’re there with all your friends, and you are having a pretty good time! After sometime at this party while, suddenly there is an emergency and the Host has to leave. It’s unexpected and it catches everyone off guard. But before He goes the Host says, “Don’t go to sleep, I’ll be back soon! Wait for me!” And as soon as He finishes speaking He rushes out the door!

The party at first continues on just like the host had never left. But after sometime one of the guests saw a comfy recliner chair at the other end of the room off by itself. And he went over and sat down because he was tired of standing and even used the blanket and that was laying on the chair. He sat there all cozy and comfy, reclined back in the seat and he fell asleep. Another group of people were enjoying themselves as they were sitting there on the couch. The talked and talked, but after awhile they ran out of things to talk about because they really only saw each other once a year at this party, and in their silence of conversation, they all began to nod off to sleep. Another group of people were enjoying themselves at the party, they were playing games and really having a good time while they wait for the Host to come back. But after round after round of this game or that game, they started to get tired. And they looked up at the clock and saw it was after midnight, the ball in Times Square had dropped. And they began to question what the Host had said. They said to one another, “Maybe He only meant to wait until midnight?” “Maybe something has come up and He actually is just going to come back in the morning!” They began to doubt what the Host said. So the filled up their air mattresses with air and went to sleep.

II. Waiting can be hard! It’s hard to wait for all Christmas Eve or Christmas Day for the opportunity to open all the presents with your name on it! It’s hard to wait for that medical important tests to come back! It’s hard to wait for another year hoping that this year will be better than the last one! It’s hard to wait for Jesus to come back to completely restore us to bring us home with Him. Especially with the pain, the difficultly, the struggles that we face on a daily basis! Waiting for Jesus, the Master to return can be hard!

In our text from Luke chapter 12, Jesus tells a parable about how He wants His disciples to be ready and waiting for Him when He returns to the world in the final day! He says that He wants them to be dressed for action and to have their lamps burning. Jesus says that He wants them to be like the servants, who wait for their Master when He is coming home from a wedding feast. He wants His people to be awake to hear the Master coming and ready to get up and answer door when the Master comes home from the feast, knocking. And when the Master comes home He will dress Himself for service and have His servants recline at the table while He serves them!

Jesus has defeated the greatest enemies, struggles that anyone can ever face! He has defeated sin, death, and the devil for you! And while were waiting it may seem like He’s absent, it may seem like He’s not there, it may seem like He has abandoned us, but Jesus always comes through on His promises for you! The promise of the Messiah coming to earth has been fulfilled for you! The promise of Him dying and rising from the grave to give you life in God’s Kingdom which has no end, that has been fulfilled for you through the work of Jesus. And one day, just like Jesus promises He is going to come back to prepare a seat at the table at the feast for you! There is going to be a seat with a reservation sign with your name on it; not because you earned it, but because of the work of Jesus! And Jesus will have you seated at the feast and He will come and serve you just like the Master serves His servants in this parable!

III. While were waiting it’s easy to be lulled to sleep. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the difficulties that we face in this world and it’s easy to forget about Jesus and the promises that He has given us. As we wait, Jesus encourages to stay awake, to not forget the promises that He has given. So how do we stay awake as we wait for our Master to return? What are some ways that looks in the world as we wait for Jesus?

IV. Many people say, you are always stronger together! That’s why people who are trying to lose weight, join the local gym’s workout group to try and stay strong and get that extra motivation. Or when you travel to the away team’s city, you feel stronger when you are sitting with people who are in your same fan base! The first way or tool that God has given us to stay awake is Community, the church. When part of the Community or the church, it’s easier to stay awake as you wait for Jesus when there are other people to support you! When you are going through a tough time, when Jesus and His promises for You seem so distant, you have other people to uplift and support you as you wait together! When we isolate ourselves or never really involve ourselves in the community, it’s just a like a person at New Year’s Eve party who sits in that comfy recliner chair on the other side of the room, while waiting for the Host to arrive. Community, the church, is a gift that God has given us to help us stay awake as we wait for Him. Do feel like you nodding to sleep waiting for the Master, I invite you to join the Community hear at Bethany or find a new way to get involved at this Community?

Another tool that God has given us as we wait for Jesus to come back is Communication or Prayer. I remember my first couple of years of college, my roommates and hall-mates, we would stay up pretty late for no other reason than we liked to be with each other we enjoyed spending time together. And there were a few times, we tried to pull all-nighters just for the fun of it! Looking back on it now, I can’t believe we wanted to do that! But as we were together trying to pull these all-nighters we discovered it much hard to fall asleep when you are using the tool of Communication - when you are in conversation with someone. When you are using the tool of Communication, you listen to what the other person says, and you are also talking too. The same thing is true in Prayer. In Prayer, we have the opportunity to bring our requests to God - for Him to hear our concerns and struggles, but we also are invited to listen to hear what God says to us. When spending time in daily Communication, Prayer, with God it’s easier to stay awake the sitting in the silence, like people who have nothing to talk about. Do feel like your eyelids are getting heavy as you are waiting for Jesus? I encourage you to make Communication with God, Prayer, a priority this New Year!

People say in order to fully absorb what someone has said to you, you need to hear it 7 times. And as time passes, it can be hard to remember what people say to you. Over time, you may find yourself saying, “Did He say this?” or “Did He say that?” You can start to doubt if remembered correctly what the person has said. It can be easy to forget something if you only are able to hear it one time. The last tool we are going to talk about is Contemplation on God’s Word. God has spoken wonderful promises and truths to you, but in the craziness of life it can be easy to forget, it can be easy to doubt what God has said for you! This last tool Contemplation on God’s Word or another way to say that is spending time listening to what has said is so, so important! While we wait, we can lose our patience, we can forget the promises in God’s Word for us if we only hear them read to us at church every so often. In order to help us stay awake God has written them down for us, so we don’t have to rely on our bad memories, and we don’t have to doubt what He said like someone at New Year’s Eve party waiting for the Host to come home; God has given us the tool of Contemplation on His Word. Do feel yourself questioning what He said as you wait for Him? I encourage you to spend time Contemplating His Word?

Waiting can be difficult. It can be hard to stay awake waiting for Jesus, but God has given us tools to help us. He has given us ways to stay awake waiting for Him. Jesus always comes through on His promises! He is coming back to prepare a place at the table for you! He’s coming back! He’s coming back for you!

Now may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, may it guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

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