Church Sermon - November 23, 2003

Rev. Bernt P. Tweit

Epistle Lesson; Revelation 1:4-8
Old Testament Lesson; Daniel 7:13-14
Sermon Text; Mark 13:32-37

Today is the last Sunday of the church year. The last Sunday of the church year is known as Christ the King, reminding us of Christ, our King, who is coming. And certainly, as we think about the coming again of Christ our King, we know that He will usher in Judgment Day.

The words of our text today, are found in Mark, chapter 13. Jesus, in these verses, was speaking to His disciples on Tuesday, of Passion Week. He was speaking these words just two days after He had ridden into Jerusalem, on Palm Sunday. And He spoke these words just two days before He celebrated the Lord’s Supper with His disciples. But even to the end, He wanted to teach His disciples. Certainly, even though we are two thousand years removed, these words are a great teaching for us, as well. We read these words of our Savior, in Jesus’ name:

"Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back – whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’"

In the late 19^th Century, the 1800’s, here in America, there were a number of prophecies predicting the actual date for Christ’s Second Coming. One such predictor was an Adventist leader named William Miller (1782-1849). And it is in his movement that both the Jehovah Witnesses and the Seventh Day Adventists find their roots.

He set a date as to when Jesus would return. Miller first predicted that Christ would return on March 21^st, 1842, the then a little bit later he revised the date to April 3^rd, 1843. His many followers (about 3,500 of them) jammed the Boston Advent Temple, waiting for that great and glorious day.

That day came. And that day went. Certainly, many of his followers were disappointed. You might think that his following would disband completely. And, you might have thought that the movement would have died altogether. But it didn’t. Rather it continued to grow.

Miller went back to the drawing board, trying to recalculate his date for the Second Coming. He soon publicized a new date – April 18^th, 1844. Again, that day came and went. Christ did not come. When the Messiah did not show up on that date, there was again frustration. And, some of his followers left the Adventist ranks.

Undeterred by these failures, Miller came up with a third date – October 22^nd, 1844. The date was publicized by the Millerite publication, The Midnight Cry. It was publicized like it was never publicized before! And, surprisingly, this third date rallied his followers.

They began to spread the news of the new date of the Second Coming with an enthusiasm that had not been seen before. Churches, which did not accept this message, were denounced as agents of the devil.

And, despite opposition and warnings from established, mainline religious groups, thousands of people began to defect to the Millerite cult.

As ‘doomsday’ approached, the Millerites began to prepare, as never before. One account notes that "Fields were left unharvested, shops were closed, people quit their jobs, paid their debts, and freely gave away their possessions with no thought of repayment."

Huge press runs of publications from The Midnight Cry warned the public that "The Time Is Short!", "Prepare to Meet Your God!", and "The Lord is Coming!".

During those days, William Miller, himself, began peddling white "ascension robes" to his faithful followers. Those people were buying the robes, in preparation for the coming of Christ, our King. Many of them waited for the miraculous event in freshly dug graves, thinking that was the day Christ was coming.

But as we all know, the Second Coming did not occur on October 22^nd, 1844. The day came and the day went, and Christ did not come. In fact, if they had heeded this morning’s sermon text, Jesus’ words in our text for today, they would not have been taken in by Miller’s false prophecy. For Jesus speaking about the Second Coming said:

"No one knows about that day or hour,

not even the angels in heaven,

nor the Son,

but only the Father.

Be on guard!

You do not know when that time will come."

Today we continue to watch for the Coming of Christ, our King. Even though we do not know when that day is going to happen, we don’t know about the day or hour, we still wait in great expectation and great anticipation. The end of the world is coming. It is important for us to be prepared. In our text for today, Jesus has three very simple commands for us to follow. The first simple command that Jesus gives to us is to Be Alert. The second simple command that Jesus gives to us is to Be Responsible. And the third simple command that Jesus gives to us is to Be Expectant.

The first simple command that Jesus says is to Be Alert! Jesus wants us to be knowledgeable in the Scriptures. He wants us to know what God has to say to us, so that we cannot be taken in and led astray by false prophets, as the Millerites were, approximately 150 years ago. Jesus wants us to Be Alert!

The second simple command that Jesus says is to Be Responsible. God wants us to be responsible. We are called to live our Christian life, in our communities, loving our neighbors, as ourselves. He wants us to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, our Savior, with our neighbors.

In our sermon text for today, Jesus had this to say about the time in which we are living – the time between His First Coming and the time leading up to the Second Coming:

"It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

"Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back – whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping."

Jesus wants us to be responsible. God has put us in charge of His Church and He expects us to fulfill the mission that He has given to us, with His Church. And you will recall that He gave the Church one great Commission:

"go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Matthew 28:19

It was in the book of Acts, chapter one, after Jesus’ Ascension, that the eleven disciples were left looking intently up in the sky. It was at that moment that God sent two angels to come and tell the disciples what their mission was. The two angels were sent to remind them that God still has a mission for them.

Let me read from Acts 1:10-11,

"They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’"

Jesus want us to be secure knowing that He will come again, but He does NOT want us to be ‘star-gazing’.

If we want to be realistic about it with ourselves, we do truly understand that God certainly does not need us. He does not need our help. Jesus doesn’t need our help to accomplish what He wants done in this world.

However,

He asks us

to be responsible.

He uses us

as His instruments,

bringing salvation to others.

In our text for today, Jesus tells us, as the landowner goes away, he put "his servants in charge, each with his assigned task". Here Jesus draws a picture of a rich landowner who went away, with many different duties that needed to be done. Today we might say that the servants were responsible to perhaps mow the lawn, another to water the plants, another to vacuum the rug, and so on. Each duty, or task, is different in the church. Yet each is important. That’s how God wants to regard you. He wants to regard you as if you each have an assigned task. You are to be responsible with your assigned task.

Today, we may ask, "What is our assigned task in church, or at home, at school, or at work?" Our assigned task in the church is to share the message of salvation with others. If you are a student, your assigned task is to do your work with all your might, to the glory of God. If you are a housewife, your assigned task is to take care of and raise up your children the best way that you can, so they know Jesus as their Savior. If you are a janitor, then your assigned task is to do your work with all of your might, to the glory of God. If that includes scrubbing toilets, do that to the glory of God, scrubbing those toilets like you have never scrubbed them before. Look at your duty as the exact place that God wants you to be, right now. Be responsible.

The third simple command that Jesus gives is, Be Expectant. Christ our King is coming again. We are to wait patiently and expectantly for that to happen. Are we waiting, though, as we should? Or, are we holding off that waiting? Are we waiting for His Coming only at the end of time, or at the end of our time? In a sense, we have all been found sleeping, because of our sin. In our text for today, as Jesus was talking to His disciples (and certainly this comes down to us), He says, "Keep watch in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. Do not let him find you sleeping."

In the events that were just about to transpire, think about how His words must have touched His disciples, after the fact.

Jesus said to keep watch in the evening. It was in the evening that Jesus was celebrating the Lord’s Supper with His disciples, when He said, "One of you is going to betray me."

It was in the Garden of Gethsemane, at midnight, when Jesus asked three of His disciples to keep watch, and yet they fell asleep. Jesus came back and said, "Could you not keep watch with me for one hour?"

It was when the rooster crowed on Good Friday, when Peter said, "I don’t know the man." Jesus then looked over at Peter, who had denied Jesus, his Savior and King.

It was in the morning, (after Jesus had been tried and found guilty) that He was led off to be crucified on the cross.

We too, like the disciples, have been found "sleeping" because of our sin. Yet how wonderful it is to know that Christ our King still comes.

And our King comes in many ways. Again this year, Christ our King is going to come as a baby, born in a manger, as we relive Christmas.

We are truly blessed to be living in the New Testament era. We have recorded for us God’s Word, which has told us about Christ the King, coming the first time as a baby, which is what Daniel was proclaiming in our Old Testament Lesson for today. Even though Jesus concealed His power and glory, did not appear or look like a real king, was not recognized by many as the King, and lived a life that was hardly the life of a king, we are able to read the historical record that Christ the King did come!

Christ our King rose from the grave, and He ascended into Heaven. We don’t see Him visibly now, but we do know that He will be coming again. Now He has chosen to remove His visible presence for a time, although He has assured us,

"Surely I will be with you always."

Matthew 28:20

As we watch for the coming of Christ our King, we don’t need to predict the date as William Miller and the Millerites tried to do, 150 years ago. We don’t know about that day or hour when Christ will come. But we do look at the scripture text for today and we look at those three simple commands that Jesus gives to us. Be alert, knowledgeable in God’s Word, so that false teaching cannot lead us astray. Be responsible, carrying out our assigned tasks, as He has given them to us, as His servants. And lastly, be expectant, knowing that Christ our King is coming, knowing that Christ our King, who went to the cross for us and won everlasting life for us, has forgiven our sins, and is waiting and wanting to give to us that gift of everlasting life in Heaven!

The next great event we await is the King’s return. But as we watch for Christ our King, we follow Jesus’ simple commands:

Amen.

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