Sermon File

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in the truth, for His word is truth. Amen

Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trintiy (2024)                           

Between the Advents of Christ                                                                                                 Rev. Toby Byrd

“Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”” (Luke 17:20–21, ESV) 

The Church Year is coming to a close and this reminds us that a day will come when this world, will come to a close at the second Advent of Jesus. Thus, with this closing season of the church, the church launches a new journey into an untried country. Now it is customary when going on trips to unknown places that a plan of travel is devised. So, too, our life should have such a plan, for one day we too will be launching a trip into an untraveled region.

Truth is, there is more to our existence than a certain span of years between the cradle and the grave. We did not come into this world merely to grow up, eat, drink, sleep, work, play, and sink back into the dust of which we were made. No, we have been made by God and should return to God. Therefore, God has prepared a chart for us by which we can reach the goal He desires we attain in His kingdom. So, this morning, let us contemplate the time Between the Advents of Christs and the trip on which we should travel.

When we look back across the centuries to the time when the Pharisees came to Jesus with the question, “when the kingdom of God would come,” (Luke 17:20, ESV) we are viewing the period of Christ’s first visible advent into this world. That was the period of which the Old Testament Prophets had spoken in prophecy after prophecy. Speaking of the Woman’s Seed, the Prophet like unto Moses, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Redeemer, the Rod of Jesse, and of the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings. These are but a few of the numerous names by which the Prophets spoke of Him whose coming had been determined by God before the world began. And as the prophet Isaiah had spoken, when Jesus came into this world in the fulness of time, the destiny of the Cross loomed before Him.

Consider the events of His first Advent. To Bethlehem, to Gethsemane, to the courts of Caiaphas, Pilate, and Herod, to Calvary, and to the open grave. There you see the Prophet of all prophets, the Priest of all priests, the King of all kings, Jesus, the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world. Angels announced His birth in glorious song, saying, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11, ESV) Angels proclaimed in the empty tomb, “He is not here, for he has risen.” (Matthew 28:6, ESV) Between the manger in Bethlehem and Joseph’s open tomb, the greatest, the most blessed work this world has ever seen was completed down to the very last detail. Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary and placed under the Law as the Substitute for all humanity, willingly took the sins of all the world upon Himself. Alone He faced the fiery darts of the devil; alone He met the righteous wrath of His heavenly Father; alone He went into death and came forth as Conqueror over all the forces that could separate man from God. God the Father, who had said on more than one occasion, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” showed His complete satisfaction with the atoning sacrifice of His Son by “highly [exalting] him and [bestowing] on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9–11, ESV) 

The first Advent of our Lord lies in the past, but man cannot afford to ignore it. For Adam lost heaven through his disobedience in the Garden of Eden. His transgression of God’s divine command was fatal for him and all his posterity. His failure to ward off the temptation of Satan plunged him and all his descendants into misery, damnation, and death. After his fall into sin, helplessness and hopelessness swept down upon him, leaving him prostrate with a conscience that led him to try and hide from God. The whole history of the human family from Adam’s day down to ours has been spoiled and blackened by sin and evil that have passed down from father to child in each succeeding generation. Lament as we may over this sad fact, there is nothing we can do to prevent it. There is nothing we can do to change the words of Scripture, “the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” (Genesis 8:21, ESV); “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5, ESV); you “were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:3, ESV) 

No matter in which direction we turn, the truth of these Bible passages is evident. Men sing about love but paralyze it through hate. They wax eloquent about peace but are always busy manufacturing weapons of war. They hold conferences on cooperation, but give selfishness, dishonesty, and oppression the right of way. They praise virtues of education to high heaven, but never get out of the rut which fosters bitterness, irreverence, impiety, and death. This discouraging picture is true of all ages, because the human heart, corrupted by sin, is always the same. Hear the words of Jeremiah, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV); and those of Jesus, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.” (Mark 7:21–22, ESV) 

What will be done to those who disregard the work of the Redeemer is what was done to the wicked when the Flood came and what was done to the sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah when the Lord rained brimstone and fire upon them from heaven. The doom of the ungodly is clearly recorded in Matthew 25:41-46; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; etc. Therefore, do not neglect Christ’s great salvation. Thank Him, who redeemed you, a lost and condemned creature.

As we look back to the first visible Advent of Jesus, we behold the Cross of Calvary and recall the word of our Savior to Nicodemus, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14–15, ESV)

“Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24, ESV) is St. Paul’s heart-rending cry when he looks upon himself and the world and realizes that neither he nor the world can ever devise the means to radically change the human heart and make it right with God. But on looking back to the first visible Advent of Christ and the work that Christ completed, then, the Apostle can say, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25, ESV) 

Truth is, who cannot be struck by fear and terror when they contemplate that great and awful day of Judgment? What sinner can stand before the just and holy Judge? Who does not say with Isaiah, “Woe is me! For I am lost!” (Isaiah 6:5, ESV) What a consolation it should be to you in view of the Judgment that Christ was offered once for you, to bear your sins (Heb. 9:28)

So, it is by faith, faith that relies on what Christ did for you during His first Advent, that you can overcome your fear and despair of the second Advent. It is by faith that you gain confidence, by faith that you may boldly raise your head and meet our Lord, Jesus Christ on that first day of His second Advent.

Scripture is clear, you need to be in God’s kingdom to escape the horrors of the Judgment and thereby receive the eternal joys and blessings of our Lord’s Second Advent, His Second Coming. Yes, the kingdom of God must be within you. Moreover, it is within all who have received the gift of the Holy Spirit and by His grace have been given the gift of faith to believe in God’s holy Word. None of you can truly see it in others, because you cannot see into their hearts. Our Lord Jesus says, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed.” (Luke 17:20, ESV) 

How important, then, is it in this decisive in-between time to hear, learn, and ponder the events of our Lord’s first Advent so that faith, and with faith, the Kingdom of God may come and be maintained within the heart! One cannot stress this importance too much.

But it does not come when emotions are stirred by charismatic speaking or the display of costly vestments. Nor does it make its advent because some sensational revivalists have drawn huge crowds. It does not come with the shout “Away with the seriousness of formal religion! We need deeds, not creeds!” Nor does it come in cleaning out and rebuilding slum areas, or in improving working conditions for the laborer, or in keeping business at peak production, or in providing security for old age. When men speak along these lines and think they are working for the Kingdom of God, supposing themselves to be members of it, Jesus says to you, “Do not go out or follow them.” (Luke 17:23, ESV)

The Kingdom of God comes when witness is given of Christ Jesus, when the wonderful works of God, as on Pentecost, are proclaimed, when in public and private ministry this theme is heard, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38, ESV); “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31, ESV) Where the word of Christ is spoken in its truth and purity, it exerts its heart and soul controlling power, and it does not return to God void, “but [as the Lord says] it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11, ESV) 

Therefore, through the Gospel of Christ’s first Advent, peace with God through faith in Christ Jesus is instilled into the heart. Sinners are brought to saving faith that they may see Jesus as their Savior, Guide, and Friend, who loves and cherishes that which is sacred and holy before God, who sheds the light and peace of heaven into darkened, burdened souls. To such, membership in the Kingdom of God is not a question of mere numbers and cold statistics, but a matter of personal relationship to God in Christ.

Whoever would therefore fare well at the second Advent of Christ, let him make constant use of the blessings offered Between the Advents of Christ, in this in between time of now but not yet. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

May the Peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.