COME, LORD JESUS! By David Layman December 3, 2000

Jeremiah 33:14-16

Luke 21:25-36

How does one deal with the end of the world, and the second coming of

Christ, in 15 minutes or less? In Mark 13:32, Jesus warns that "NO ONE

KNOWS", when the end will be. Yet Jesus also spoke of his second

advent, "COMING IN A CLOUD WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY" (Luke 21:27)

Jesus shared both these teachings in the last week of his first coming.

This advent season, we're not merely thinking of the first coming of

Christ, in Bethlehem. Were looking forward to His second coming, "WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY."

Jesus' contemporaries suffered under political oppression, high taxes,

dreaded diseases, an unpredictable economy. Spouses were unfaithful to one another, people abused alcohol. Double standards abounded. Good people often died young, and bad people hung around too long. In some ways, life is better today. In other ways, it's worse. One thing

hasn't changed in the last 2,000 years. Life can be very hard, there's

too much injustice, and death can come too soon!

It's not a sin for us to pray, along with the early church, "COME, LORD

JESUS!" Two weeks ago we sang

"Even so, Lord, quickly come to thy final harvest home;

Gather Thou Thy people in, free from sorrow, free from sin;

There forever purified, in Thy presence to abide;

Come, with all Thine angels, come, raise the glorious harvest home."

When a loved one lies in a bed of pain, when we're weak and weary, and ready to lay our burdens down, it's not a sin to pray "COME, LORD

JESUS!" In this Advent season, we're not just waiting for Christmas to

come. We're waiting for Jesus to come! There are some things that will

never be made right until He comes!

If we're currently living outside of God's will, we don't want Christ to

come. If we're feasting upon the fruits of unjust gain, we don't want

the judge to come. I've been told that once as a young boy, I got into

a box of chocolates while Mom was talking on the phone. I made my

mistake by coming out into the hallway with the box half eaten, and

telling her to keep talking! When we're doing something we shouldn't be

doing, we don't want the judge to come! We also don't want to believe

there will ever BE a judgment or accounting!

In Luke 21, Jesus tells us there will be a second coming, a time of

judgment. Furthermore, if we're living as his children, we won't need

to worry about this time--we can look forward to it! "PEOPLE WILL FAINT FROM FEAR AND FOREBODING OF WHAT IS COMING UPON THE WORLD...THEN THEY WILL SEE THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY.

NOW WHEN THESE THINGS BEGIN TO TAKE PLACE, STAND UP AND RAISE YOUR HEADS, BECAUSE YOUR REDEMPTION IS DRAWING NEAR."

The innocent often suffer judgment along with evil doers today.

Everybody pays the cost of crime in the form of taxes for law

enforcement, higher insurance costs, etc. I remember in 6th grade how

our teacher's wife was sick, so he stayed home with her and we had a

sub. Some students took advantage of the sub. As a result, when our

teacher got back, all of us were punished. Jesus' judgment at the

second coming won't be like this! Jesus said that at His second advent,

believers can "STAND UP AND RAISE YOUR HEADS, BECAUSE YOUR REDEMPTION IS DRAWING NEAR." The second coming of Christ is something that believers

can look forward to!

The portents of the end of time (tumultuous seas, earthquakes, etc.)

sound like something Californians need to fear, more so than us

righteous, salt of the earth folks from the midwest! We need to be

warned about having too high an opinion of ourselves! Jesus startled

the Scribes and Pharisees, the most outwardly religious people of his

day, by saying that the prostitutes and blatant sinners would get into

heaven before they would. Let us be humble in the estimation of our own righteousness. Let us heed Jesus' warning not to be high on something when he returns. Instead, "BE ALERT AT ALL TIMES, PRAYING THAT YOU MAY HAVE THE STRENGTH TO ESCAPE ALL THESE THINGS THAT WILL TAKE PLACE, AND TO STAND BEFORE THE SON OF MAN."

In this Advent season, while we're preparing for Christmas by making

lists, decorating and shopping, we would do well to prepare our lives

for Christ's coming. What is there in our lives that needs cleansing?

What angers and resentments are we nurturing? What slothfulness are we too comfortable with? Do we find ourselves rationalizing that "we've

always been this way, we'll never change!" Or do we believe there is

more sin in us than Christ can cleanse and transform? We don't need to

wait for a new year before we ask God to forgive and begin to transform

us!

We like to have something impressive to give us a sense of stability and

order. Many in Jesus' day, including his disciples, found the temple in

Jerusalem to be the most impressive building they had ever seen. Jesus accurately predicted that the temple would one day be destroyed, which it was in 70 AD by the Romans. I remember visiting the World Trade Center in New York City, and being impressed with it, before the

terrorist bombing took place there a few years ago. I can still picture

the image news cameras conveyed of people escaping the smoky building: the look of panic, confusion, dismay. World peace and security lies not in any impressive building, material prosperity, or control of the

Temple mount. Heaven and earth will pass away, but Christ's words WILL NOT pass away! Nail Jesus to a cross, place his body in a tomb, but God will raise him up. Christ the King is the eternal ruler of our world.

One small candle can point us to the power of His first coming, and

encourage us as we await his second coming!

The thought of the sea being in tumult, impressive buildings being

destroyed, earthquakes, wars and chaos, is naturally unsettling. We

should be unsettled, if we place our trust, and sense of security upon

things of the world, instead of upon God. Jesus never promised that we

wouldn't face times of difficulty and trial. He did say "HEAVEN AND

EARTH WILL PASS AWAY, BUT MY WORDS WILL NOT PASS AWAY"

The tiny infant born in Bethlehem, whose birth we will soon celebrate, is Christ Jesus, our eternal Lord and King! A tiny baby, the flame of one small candle is enough to point us to the eternal reality of God.

As a child, I spent my share of time in movie theaters, and saw more

than a few westerns. Those movies did a terrible injustice to the

Indians, for the Indians were invariably the bad guys. They'd have the

wagon train surrounded. And then, when things looked hopeless, a

trumpet would sound, and kids throughout the theater would cheer and

applaud. Here came the cavalry! As I make calls today, I see people

facing serious illness, experiencing hardship in their families, the

increasing infirmities of aging. While at Friends Fellowship earlier

this week, I ran into people there that I've known for years. And most

of them are in worse shape than they were a couple of years ago. Most

people don't find that their health or alertness improves in the later

years!

Instead of a trumpet, a baby's cry pierced the darkness of Bethlehem at

Christ's first coming! Jesus taught eternal words of truth, and brought

hope and healing. They hung him on a cross to die, but God raised Him

up! Not only did Jesus come at Bethlehem. He will come again to judge

the quick and the dead! The trumpet WILL sound at Christ's second

coming! For believers, the second coming of Christ is not a time to

fear, but a time to long for! Come, Lord Jesus! Come again!

--

Rev. David Layman

First Presbyterian Church