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“Keep Awake!”

I want to start with something funny I found on an internet site: There was a Christian lady who lived next door to an atheist. Every day, when the lady prayed, the atheist guy could hear her. He thought, “She sure is crazy, praying all the time like that. Doesn’t she know there isn’t a God?” Many times while she was praying, he would go to her house and harass her, saying, “Lady, why do you pray all the time? Don’t you know there is no God?” But she kept on praying.

One day, she ran out of groceries. As usual, she prayed to the Lord, explained her situation, and thanked God in advance, for whatever God would do for her. Also, as usual, the atheist heard her praying and thought to himself, “Humph, I’ll fix her.” He went to the grocery store, bought a whole bunch of groceries, took them to her house, dropped them off on the front porch, rang the doorbell, and hid in the bushes to see what she would do. When she opened the door and saw the groceries, she began to praise the Lord with all her heart, jumping, singing, and shouting everywhere. The atheist then jumped out of the bushes and told her, “You are crazy. God didn’t buy you those groceries. I bought them!” Hearing this, she started running down the street, shouting and praising the Lord. When he finally caught her, he asked what her problem was. She said, “I knew the Lord would provide me with some groceries, but I didn’t know he was going to make the devil pay for them!”

Throughout human history many people have wondered if God existed. Some believed in God; some did not; even some brought on wars about whose God was the real God; some would die in public, killing many people, believing it was God’s command. Some made people question whether it was the end of the world. However, Jesus said, “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come” (Mark 13: 5-8).

What do you think about the coming Christ? Do you believe Christ is coming back? Jesus said, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John14:3). And in the Scripture Acts, when Jesus was taken up to heaven, two angels 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” (Acts 1:11). If you believe so, God is already with you.

Today’s Scripture talks about the coming of Jesus Christ. It also talks about how, before Jesus comes back, there will be many difficulties in the world. However, we do not know when it will happen. Jesus says, “About that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert, for you do not know when the time will come” (Mark 13:32-33). It is our blessing that we don’t know when Jesus will come back. We would not have any hope if we knew everything about the future. We have hope because Jesus promised us in God’s Word. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Mark 13:31). We can hope no matter what kind of difficulties challenge us because we believe in God, who is our steadfast supporter. As God told Joshua, “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). Jesus also told us, “Therefore, 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). As the scriptures tell us, God is our Steadfast Supporter. When we keep God’s Word in our lives, God will be with us. We know, nevertheless, that we face many difficulties in our lives. God sometimes blocks a lion’s mouth but does not remove a lion in front of us as God protected Daniel (Hebrews 11:33; Daniel 6: 22). God promised us, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2). “Beware, and keep alert.” God promised us that He would be with us in the fire and water, but God did not promise us that He would remove the fire and water from our lives.

Remember, our faithful ancestors kept their faith in God even though they were persecuted. The Scripture shows us how they kept their faith in God: “Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated-the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground” (Hebrews 11:36-38). Because the early Christians kept their faith, the good news of Christ could come to us. Otherwise, we would never know about God. So, we are responsible for keeping our faith and spreading the good news to the next generation, our neighbors, and the world.

Do not forget “who we are.”  We are the people of God. As long as you hold God, God will take care of you. No matter “how,” because “how” belongs to God. God will make things happen, but we cannot make things happen. Do not keep the problems, worries, concerns, and troubles in your mind. Throw away all negative things from your minds, hearts, and souls. “Beware and keep alert” for the negative things that destroy your minds, hearts, and souls. Fill your minds, hearts, and souls with positive things. You can do it because you are the people of God.

Today is the first Sunday of “Advent.” The word “Advent” is from “Adventus” in Latin, and it is translated to “Parousia” in Greek, which means “coming” or “arriving at.” Advent in the Christian calendar means “the season that is waiting for the Lord Jesus Christ.” Advent is the first day of the Christian calendar. So, today is the first day in the new year of the Christian calendar. Therefore, Christians begin their faithful journey of a year, waiting for Jesus Christ, who comes back again.

In the Advent season, we light five unique candles: three purple, one pink or red, and one white. Through Christmas Day, we light the candles one by one each week. Each candle has a special meaning. The first candle symbolizes hope; the second is peace; the third is joy; the fourth is love; and the fifth white candle symbolizes Christ’s light. It symbolizes that Jesus Christ comes to the dark world as the light with hope, peace, joy, and love. As Jesus comes into the world, we pray that Jesus brings us hope, peace, joy, love, and light in the world. Therefore, we begin the Advent season with these candles, waiting for the hope, peace, joy, love, and light that Jesus Christ brings us.

Beware and keep alert for the negative things that destroy your minds, hearts, and souls. One of my favorite verses of Scripture is, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” in Proverbs 4:23. Keep your hearts, minds, and souls in God.

Everything has a season. If a tree always has fruits, we may think something is wrong. There is time for the tree to lose its leaves and suffer in chilly weather, thunderstorms, and snowstorms. After overcoming all the suffering, the tree finally has flowers, new leaves, and fruit. If there is no God, your suffering would end you, but you can start a new life right now because God is with you. God will be with you, help you, and care for you because God loves you so much! Keep awake in faith!

Thanks be to God, Amen!

Posted in Sermons