Grace, mercy and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
He
is coming! Look up, your redemption
draws nigh. Do not look down where confusion, anxiety, and troubles lie. Look
up, for Christ shall soon return. The
Lord your righteousness comes. This
is the Advent message, calling us to prepare for His coming. He is coming for
all who look up, who look to the eternal, who look to their God and Saviour;
who turn from looking down and look up. His second coming shall surely come as
did the first… but in a different manner. Save a handful, the First Advent the
world slept. The Second Advent none will sleep; and the dead will wake. Then
the judgment where some receive an earned
condemnation and others inherit unearned
life.
We,
who do not earn but trust, watch; waiting for Him who loves us and does not
want us to perish. He is coming! He
tells you that because the end is getting nearer and nearer. Before He comes
there shall be fearful signs in the heavens, the world will begin to break
apart. The Creator withdraws
more of His hand from sustaining the earth. Why will He do that? He calls our
fallen race to repentance most loudly… and purchasing carbon credits will not
reverse that day. Because each does what is right in his eyes as in the days of
Noah, before the overwhelming flood, God shouts a curtain-call for repentance.
It is a final call that makes the world fear. How tragic… They will look unto the earth, and behold trouble and darkness, dimness
of anguish, and they shall be driven to darkness (Isaiah 8:22 ). Why are many driven into darkness? It
is preferred by those who look down. The unrepentant have no light in them. To the law and to the testimony: if they
speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
(Isaiah 8:20)
However, all who receive the Word
receive light. Those whose faith is in Christ have the light of Christ. Those
who hear and believe have hope and so look up, looking to the unseen, to the promises, to the testimony of
redemption, to the living, Saving God.
That’s why you will cling to the living Word. You have reason for the
hope that is in you. So if these last troubles come in your day you will
continue look to the Lord, your righteousness. Whatever troubles come your way
in any day, look up and heed three pairs of commands: Straighten up and lift
your heads; See the budding fig tree; Know
that the kingdom
of God
Permit me a little doctrinal
review. Are these words law or gospel?
And these commands, what kind of law are they? 1. Are they the first use of the
law, the law as restraint? The law restrains evil when coupled with the sword.
For example, when you see a flashing blue light behind your car, do you slow
down? That’s the law as mirror. 2. Are these commands the second use of the
law, the law as mirror? Here the law reveals our guilt before God. It incites
us to sin and convicts us of sin. For
example, the person who said we shouldn’t teach children the 10 commandments
because it puts so many ideas into their heads is ½ right; for the law stirs up
rebellion while the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, causing us to fear
judgment. 3. Are these commands the
third use of the law, the law as a guide for Christians? Although believers are
reborn in the image of God our corrupt nature still clings to us. We are often
blind to the will of God. So this use of the law teaches us God’s will, even if
it returns us to the second use, to repentance.
So what use of the law are these pairs
of admonitions? Straighten up and lift your heads. See the budding fig tree, Know
that the kingdom
of God kingdom
of God
They tempt you to look down. But you
do not want to be numbered with the generation of unbelievers, do you? Can you
endure? Yes, by the power that cannot pass away. What shall never pass away?
Christ’s Word, His teachings, His promises shall never pass away. You
are promised His righteousness, life and fellowship with God as Father. You are
promised to be sons of God, sharing the inheritance of the first born from the
dead. What tragedy many reject this Word
and fall into dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life. But you, beware and be watchful, looking into God’s Word, and you will stand. Look to
Him and you will “stand in the presence of the Son of Man!” Look, because He redeemed you with His blood.
He carries you with His strength, with words of life. As the Apostle Paul prayed confidently for
the Thessalonians: May the Lord make you
increase and abound in love… May he establish your hearts blameless in
holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus. As the
Apostle Paul promised the church in Rome
You watch for Jesus Christ because He
fills you with hope. When at last He returns it is for your redemption! How do
you know the church shall stand? And this
is the name wherewith she shall be called, the Lord our righteousness. The
Church’s name, your name is “the Lord our righteousness.” He gave us this name
in His first advent, by His sacrifice for sinners, justifying sinners. He does
not say, “Get righteous by obeying the law”, which is to be named “I am my
righteousness.” No, He is your righteousness, naming you with His
righteousness. This righteousness stands in the judgment. It is not from you. It is given you. It is a
perfect righteousness that the Almighty accepts as He accepts His beloved Son.
This is your Christmas present to sustain you through That Day; for Christ gave
you a new name, the name of the Church, “The Lord our Righteousness.”
He poured that name on you with water
and the Word. He pours that name into you with His blood and body. He declares
you righteous in His sight. In this name we lift up our heads, seeing and
knowing, watching and waiting until the day He returns in glory. In this
Baptismal name we stand, named “the Lord, our righteousness.” By this name we
boldly pray “Our Father, “Hosanna to David’s Son, come Lord Jesus.” By this
name we look up and see the Father’s beaming face of joy.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep
your heart and mind in Christ Jesus our Lord (Amen).
