Sermon Text: 1 Thessalonians 3: 9-13
9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?
10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.
11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you.
12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
Morning Message:
How patient are you? How many of you enjoy waiting for things to happen, for holidays to come, for surprises to be revealed, for people to get dressed and put on their makeup? Sorry, I lost my train of thought for a moment and was thinking about my life. You see I have been blessed with a wife and daughters and granddaughters, so I have learned to be more patient. Now I did say more patient; I am reminded all the time that I am still not patient enough. I can’t speak for everyone, but I believe that most of us struggle with patience. Advent is a time of waiting; it is a microcosm of our entire Christian existence. During this season we look forward to a celebration of things that have already taken place. We wait to celebrate the birth of our Savior, an event that took place over two thousand years ago. Our focus is on the day. We buy gifts, send letters to Santa Claus, decorate our homes and our churches, plan for the great feast that will take place on Christmas day, and we wait with great anticipation. The day finally comes, and the excitement is unleashed. Every year I find myself watching A Christmas Story, probably several times. One scene sticks in my mind: Mom and Dad are sitting on the couch and you can see that they are exhausted; Randy is asleep on the floor surrounded by his gifts and wrapping paper, and Ralphie, happy to be out of his Easter bunny PJ’s, is looking disappointed that he didn’t get the one present that he really wanted. We all know how he feels. Christmas did not quite meet his expectations. It’s kind of like the feeling you get after Thanksgiving dinner is over and all of the family has gone home. You look at the kitchen and think “How am I ever going to clean all of this up and put everything away?” I don’t feel like it was worth it.
What can make Christmas worth waiting for? Advent. We must find joy and satisfaction in our Christian lives while we wait. Instead of Christmas being something that we must struggle to get ready for, it should be a celebration of what God has done, and what he is doing in our lives. In our Advent devotional for today listen to these words from the author, “We must listen with our whole being, trusting that the Word that created us will also heal us.” (Remember the Word is Jesus) “God wants to become present to us and thus radically transform our fearful hearts.” During Advent we are practicing. Now I don’t believe that you can practice waiting, but you can practice your faith and learn how to make the best of this time of waiting. We are a part of God’s kingdom right now, and we need to learn to live as God’s people while we await our Saviors return. Here is the point: You might be saved, but you are not a finished work yet. When we turn to Jesus, that only starts the process. While we are waiting to be taken to heaven God is slowly but surely transforming our hearts. The truth is we need this time, this Advent, before the event of the second coming of Jesus. We are living in the last days before Jesus comes back, but we must be patient because we are not ready.
How many of you remember playing hide and seek as a child? The person who was going to be seeking or looking for everyone would count to ten and then say, ready or not, here I come. Jesus will not be saying that before he returns. In our scripture today, Paul is praying for the Thessalonians. “May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” Do you ever wonder what God is waiting for? There are a couple of reasons. First, God is waiting for all who belong to him to be saved. Second, he is waiting on us, for our sanctification. What is sanctification? It is the process by which believers yield to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to do His work in their lives; changing them from the inside out. I don’t want to get to deep into this, but Sanctification happens in three phases. When you come to Jesus and accept him as your Lord and Savior you have Positional Sanctification; you were made clean so God will accept you. When Jesus comes back you will receive Perfected Sanctification,. It means exactly what it says: you will be made perfect. Right now, we are in Progressive Sanctification, which simply means that we are a work in progress. You know I preach to you all the time the need for spiritual growth in your life. I do that because I know, according to God’s word, that is his will for our lives.
The coming of our Savior takes time because salvation takes time. God does not snap his fingers or push a button in order to save us. He sends his Son to be with us and love us. Salvation is a relationship. This takes time. Here is where I could preach all day, but I won’t. Living for Jesus is about being in a relationship with him, the same way that you are in a relationship with anyone. It takes work, it takes communication, it takes love and dedication to that person. We cannot treat Jesus like an outsider who is only welcome in our lives when we need something or when it is convenient for us. There is a devotional that was published a long time ago. I first saw it when I was involved with the Billy Graham crusades. It was called, “My Heart: Christ’s Home.” The main point of this devotional was to point out that Jesus wanted to be included in every room of your heart, every part of your life. Striving for a full-time relationship with Jesus, that’s Sanctification. Building a meaningful relationship with Jesus takes time and effort, but this is worth waiting for. God’s timing is perfect. Jesus is coming back soon! Are you ready?
In Christ’s Love and Peace
Pastor Bob
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