Ready or Not, Here I Come

I like to start some of the special services with a top 10 list.

You've heard this on a David Letterman show. He would do a top 10 list and he

would say, all the way from our home office in Sioux City, Iowa, we have the top 10 list.

And so this morning, all the way from the back roads of my crazy mind, we have the top 10 list.

You know Christmas is always here.

You know Christmas is always here. Number 10, when there are more pine needles

on your carpet than there are on your tree.

Number 9, you know Christmas is almost here when your credit card is smoked

more than your turkey or your ham.

Number 8, you know that Christmas is almost here when you've watched It's a

Wonderful Life for the 13th time.

How many? Yeah. out. Number seven, a trip to the mall and back is more challenging than the Indy 500.

Number six, you know that Christmas is almost here when the Salvation Army bell

ringers start accepting credit cards and IOUs.

Number five, you know that Christmas is almost here when you're pulling an all-nighter

because of the words, some assembly required.

Dads, how many have been there? Okay. Okay, number four, your Christmas list

is written in black ink, but your checking account is in the red.

Number three, you know Christmas is almost here when Santa's belly is not the

only thing shaking like a bowl full of jelly.

Number two, you know Christmas is almost here when the NFL referees are not

the only ones giving away games.

Humor is always based in truth, a little bit. Anyway, number one reason why

you know Christmas is almost here.

The infamous fruitcake returns from its 12 months in hiding.

Does anybody actually eat a fruitcake? You got, really?

Wow, that's amazing. I thought they just fermented from one year to the next.

Anyway, just about everyone who has a pulse can tell you what time of year it is.

We hear the ads on the radio and TV,

see the lighted houses and buildings, the decorated yards in our neighborhoods,

and the displays within every store, make sure we do not forget that it's almost Christmas.

In fact, it usually starts in the stores even before Halloween now.

Bah, humbug. Not right. Even the banners that scroll across the top of your

internet search screen are there to remind us that Christmas is coming.

In fact, in years past, the Google logo would be decorated, the different letters

of the Google logo would be decorated with Christmas scenes.

I didn't notice that this year.

Somebody else must be running Google. They're there to remind us that Christmas

is coming in case we've missed all the other signs.

I mean, they wouldn't want us to forget going to the store on Christmas Eve

to get those last-minute boxes of Queen Anne cordial cherries.

You know what I'm talking about, yep.

The clues many times are there to tell us simply, be prepared.

Don't get caught without just the right gift, the right decorations,

the right treats, the right goodies, the right wardrobe accessories.

But what amazes me about all the hype and fanfare leading up to Christmas today

is the paradoxical picture it paints when it's set alongside the world of Christmas

Eve a little more than 2,000 years ago.

Who do you think was fully prepared for the first Christmas?

Were the huts and houses decked out with twinkling decor?

Were the theaters and houses of worship offering special shows and musicals?

Did anxious children find it hard to sleep that night?

My guess that is the answer to all of those questions is no.

And I can tell you, Quick Trip wasn't even open for that last-minute quart of eggnog.

But the first Christmas was not without its own signs and signals that dated back for centuries.

Some 740 years before, Prophet Isaiah had predicted a coming Savior,

the Messiah, who would be born of a virgin from the ancestry of David, born in Bethlehem.

All Jews, even the marginally religious, had known such things from the time they were toddlers.

It was prophesied. They read about it all the time.

Time and yet on the evening eve of the

very first christmas it was pretty much

business as usual for all of them people came

home from work and cleaned up for dinner children played in the dusty streets

until time for bed spouses rolled over and gave goodnight kisses before turning

out the light light goes on except

perhaps for those who still had yet to comply with that crazy census.

You know, the one Caesar had ordered? It was kind of like those of us who wait

until April 15th to prepare our tax returns.

For those who still needed to register, their minds were occupied with getting

to their hometown if they still didn't live in it, filling out the necessary

documents, and going home.

One young couple arrived in Bethlehem on just such a mission,

and Jesus was born and placed in a manger. But who really knew?

Apparently no one. An angel woke up some shepherds to tell them news.

Some wise men were intrigued by a strange star and they followed it.

But apart from those unlikely guests at the manger, there's no record of anyone

else coming to see the Christ child.

Jesus came and though many have been waiting for him, few really noticed his arrival. Thank you.

First christmas might have been easy to miss but

the subsequent ones in our lifetimes are practically impossible

to overlook it seems that

our focus is so intent on the anniversary of jesus's first coming but jesus

said he was coming again according to revelation chapter 22 and i'm going to

Revelation 22 · chapter mention

have i'm going to ask marty to read revelations 22 verses 7 through 20 look i am am coming soon.

Revelation 22:7–20

Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in the scroll.

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things.

And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the

angel who had been showing them to me.

But he said to me, don't do that. I am a fellow servant with you and with your

fellow prophets prophets, and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God.

Then he told me, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll,

because the time is near.

Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong. Let the vile person continue to be vile.

Let the one who does right continue to do right.

And let the holy person continue to be holy.

Look, I am coming soon. My reward is with me, and I will give to each person

according to what they have done.

I am the Alpha and the Mega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the

tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, sexual immorality.

The murderers and the adulterers, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.

I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright morning star.

The spirit and the bride say come.

Let the one who hears say come. Let the one who is thirsty come.

Let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll.

If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in the scroll.

And if anyone takes words away from the scroll of prophecy, God will take away

from that person any share in the tree of life and in the holy city,

which are described in this scroll.

He who attestifies to these things say, Yes, I am coming soon.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

May God add his blessing to the reading of his word.

Behold, I am coming soon. Those are the words of Jesus. But here's the question

I would pose for us today.

Are we preparing more and in greater anticipation of the anniversary of our

Lord's first coming than we are preparing for his second coming.

In other words, do our efforts to observe and remember his first coming surpass

our attention to the details of being ready for him to come again?

The stakes are very much higher, more high, for the preparation for his second

coming. We must be prepared.

Some of us might have a better idea of how to prepare a great Christmas celebration

than we do for how to prepare for him to suddenly appear before us.

After all, Christmas preparations, if you boil them down, are pretty basic.

Decorate, purchase and wrap gifts, make plans with the family,

attend a church service or two, cook or cater, clean up.

I know there are many other exciting nuances that make Christmas far more elaborate

and far more busy, but really you and I would essentially be ready for Christmas

if we just gave attention to those few things.

And even if we're not ready, Christmas is still going to come anyway.

There are some basics to keep in mind for a person, though, who wants to be

fully prepared for Jesus to come back in the second return.

And those are what I'm going to focus on this morning. The first question is,

are you preparing more for anticipation for the anniversary of Christ's first

coming than you are for the preparation of his second?

So in preparation for Jesus to return, we should be alert and watchful at all times.

Sometimes at Christmas, we are alert and watch for sales, right? Right.

We receive wish lists, and we watch the ads for good deals.

The news media is reporting that this year, Christmas retail sales are up about 3% over last year.

That's not even counting the inflation.

So we do a lot to help bring in more revenue, and sometimes the stores will

probably stay open until midnight. night.

I know that Quick Trip is staying open and they'll even be open tomorrow because I asked them.

They don't get to go home and have Christmas with their families.

They have to stay there. Right, Peggy?

Yep. And so if you still need something for a Christmas present,

you can go to Quick Trip and buy a five-pound bag of potatoes or a couple pounds

of bananas or a diet Mountain and do or something like that,

but there's always something you can get last minute.

Seems that we have every means available to prepare ourselves in our homes for

Christmas that we know is coming on the calendar, but being alert and watchful

helps us get ready for and observe an event that has already taken place.

But Jesus said that to be ready for him to come again, this is also what we should do. He said,

Christmas is December 25th every year. That's the date we've scheduled for it.

It's easy to keep track of.

But what day will Jesus return?

We don't know. And oftentimes, the fact that we do not know when something is

going to happen is all the reason we have to not prepare for it, right?

Surely someone will put it on

our calendar and tell us ahead of time when Jesus is going to come back.

So I'll just wait until it gets a little closer to get ready. I've got plenty of time.

I remember a plant manager at a place I I worked, the factory I worked,

talked with him about his life and his relationship or non-relationship with God,

and he had talked about how he had been gone to Sunday school as a child,

but that he was going to sow his wild oats, and then when he was on his deathbed,

that's when he would give his life back to Christ.

Who knows when that's going to be?

Yet the Bible tells us the key to being prepared is to be watchful and alert at all times.

Constant attention needs to

be given all the time because it could be any day, any time, any moment.

After all, Jesus said it would be soon, ready or not.

I remember watching the movie A Thief in the Night when I was a 17-year-old just out of high school.

The certainty of jesus's return and the

uncertainty of the timing is what made me

very aware of my own separation from god

because i was not living a life for christ and as the other movie says i didn't

want to be left behind this is what led me to confess my sinfulness to the almighty

god and to surrender myself to him letting him direct my life from that moment on.

So that leads us to the second thing that needs to be on our mind.

If we're going to be fully prepared for Jesus to return, we should be motivated to live godly lives.

The Apostle Peter makes it very clear. You ought to live holy and godly lives

as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.

At Christmastime, children are told they shouldn't be bad or they'll get coal in their stocking.

In fact, I have reason to believe that at least one person in our church is

going to receive coal this Christmas.

Kids, don't worry, it's none of you. Prospect of Santa coming soon spurs every

little child on toward good behavior.

The prospect of Jesus coming back means we have a lot more online than a little

candy or coal in our stocking.

We're talking about life and eternity heaven or

hell pure and simple so we

ought to live holy and godly lives don't get too attached

to this world as the song says it's not our home

we're just a passing through peter refers

to us as aliens and strangers here people whose citizenship is in heaven that

means if there are things we are practicing now that we wouldn't if If we were

more sure today when Judgment Day was going to be, we need to change them now.

I often heard it growing up, would you do that if Jesus was here with you?

Well, he is, and he's going to be coming back.

How would you want Jesus to find you on the day he returns?

Would you like to be tied to materialism or deeper tied to him through prayer?

Would you like to harbor some little habit, or would you like to be more passionately

sharing your faith with your neighbors and friends?

In whatever way you would like Jesus to find you when he returns,

the writing of Peter tells us that we should start living that way now.

Now, Romans says, be ye therefore transformed by the renewing of your mind so

that you may prove what that good and perfect will of God is.

Paul tells us in Colossians that we are to rid ourselves of all those things

that are not holy and put on the clothes of righteousness.

We need to make preparations. We don't know the day when Jesus is going to return,

but he's coming soon. And I'm going to tell you something very profound.

It is closer to the day of Jesus' return now than it was 2,000 years ago. Isn't that profound?

You heard it from me first. Third, if we are to be prepared for Jesus to come

back, we should encourage each other.

At this time of year, we say Merry Christmas a lot, and we've noticed that a

lot more Merry Christmas this year than in past years, and that's great.

We encourage each other to have a nice holiday celebration.

Christmas is coming soon, and I hope you have a great and Merry Christmas.

Christians can do the same as we prepare for for Jesus' second coming.

1 Thessalonians 4, 17 and 18 says, After that, we also are still alive,

and our left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Therefore, encourage each other with these words.

Hebrews 10, 25 reads, But let us encourage one another, and all the more as

you see the day of the Lord approaching.

We need to seek each other out. Pat one another on the back.

Remind each other, Jesus is coming. Hang in there. It's not much longer.

We need to keep up the good work. Jesus is coming soon.

Encourage one another. We shouldn't bring each other down.

We shouldn't let misery be the stalwart of everything that we do.

We need to celebrate that Christ is alive.

Jesus has risen, and he's living in us and through us, and he's coming back

to receive a bride to himself.

We shouldn't bring each other down. We should feel free to express our hope

in the return of Jesus to other Christians.

And lastly, if we're going to prepare and be ready for Jesus to return, we should persevere.

In some ways, this has been a tough Christmas.

The world seems to be in an an uproar from the Middle East to Ukraine to all around.

Even the streets of America are in an uproar.

Many families have loved ones in combat. Many families have lost loved ones recently.

Age is creeping up on so many of us, and it's more difficult to operate in even the smallest ways.

It is not hard for me to get down on my knees to pray.

But it's horrible to try to get back up. The traffic going to the Walmart or

the mall in Madison is frightening.

And don't even bother to signal to change lanes on your way out there because

no one's going to let you in anyway.

Merry Christmas, right? And that's just the traffic on the way to the malls.

Once we get inside, then the traffic is chaotic.

I read of a major fight in Britain at a shopping event for kids where one seven-year-old

girl was trampled to death in the frenzy.

Unbridled greed to get just the right gift.

Of course, then the toilet springs a leak, the car battery dies,

and the puppy throws up on the carpet, Merry Christmas.

And still there's a lot to be done for Christmas. You finally come home exhausted

from shopping, fighting traffic, and punching your way in to get that favorite

gift for that not-so-favorite uncle, but you got it done.

You have persevered. The oyster stew is on the stove, and now you're ready to celebrate.

Listen to what Paul tells Timothy about the Christian life. He says this,

Fight the good fight of faith.

Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good

confession in the presence of many witnesses, in the sight of God who gives life to.

He wasn't talking about Jesus' first coming, because Jesus had already been there.

Fight the good fight. Keep the faith.

Make the good confession. confession, keep this command without spot or blame

until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In our preparations for the second coming of Jesus, we are urged to persevere. Don't give up.

You'll be tempted to think it's not worth it. You'll be tempted to think Jesus isn't coming back.

You'll be tempted to think that prophecy of his second coming was given such

a long time ago go, and he hasn't come yet.

It's probably going to be a long time yet till it comes.

Some people say, I've got plenty of time to get ready.

I'll wait until I'm on my deathbed.

Jesus isn't going to come back in my lifetime.

You'll be tempted to turn away. You'll be tempted to take your eyes off of Jesus while you wait.

You'll be tempted to make a compromise here and there because it's been a long

time already and Jesus hasn't come yet.

But don't give in to those temptations. persevere live the faith fight the good

fight what's the best strategy for lifelong perseverance,

remembering that remembering that he's coming soon philippians 4 verse verse

8 says whatsoever things are lovely pure righteous holy think on these things

in all we do every day all the time think about christ and what is good and what is right.

Are the basics to be praised to be prepared for

the coming of christ the second coming there's a

poem that was written several years ago loosely based

on the night before christmas the poem however is one man's tale of the night

before jesus came twas the night before jesus came and all through the house

not a creature was praying not one in the house their bibles were laying on

on the shelf without care in hopes that Jesus would not come there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed, not once ever kneeling or bowing

ahead, and mom in her rocker with baby on her lap was watching the late show while I took a nap.

When out of the east there arose such clatter, I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew in a flash, tore up the shutters and threw up the sash.

When what to what my wondering eyes should appear

but angels proclaiming that jesus was here

with a light like the sun sending forth a

bright ray i knew in a moment that this must be

the day the light of his face made me

cover my head it was jesus returning just like

he had said and though i possessed worldly wisdom

and wealth i cried when i saw him in

spite of myself in the the book of life which

he held in his hand was written the name of every saved man

he spoke not a word as he searched for my name

when he said it's not here my head hung in shame the people whose names had

been written with love he gathered to take to his father above with those who

were ready he rose without a sound while all the little rest were left standing

around i fell to my knees but it was too late.

I waited too long and this sealed my fate. I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight.

Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.

The words of this poem, the meaning is clear. The coming of Jesus is drawing near.

There's only one life, and when comes the last call, we'll find out that the

Bible was true after all.

Friends, we are celebrating Christmas, but it is never too early to start getting

ready for the second coming of Christ, because even if we're not fully prepared,

tomorrow is still Christmas.

And similar to Christmases, Jesus is still coming, And if he said it was soon

2,000 years ago, think of how soon it must be now.

So the question we leave with ourselves as we close this Christmas Eve service

on the day before Christmas is this.

Jesus declaring, ready or not, here I come.

The question for us is, are we ready?

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we celebrate the joy and the fun that we can have at Christmas,

I would pray that you would help us to be more prepared for you coming the second

time than we are even for the celebration of this.

Father, I pray that if there is any heart in this room, or listening online,

or watching on television that has not prepared for your second coming,

that does not know the love that comes and the grace that comes through Jesus Christ.

Father, I pray that this would be the day of salvation so that we may say with

the Apostle John as he wrote this, come Lord Jesus, come.

Amen.