Sunday, September 2, 2018

While You're Waiting

Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring.  They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.  You, too, must be patient.  Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.  Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged.  For look—the Judge is standing at the door!  We give great honor to those who endure under suffering.  For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.  But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else.  Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.  James 5:7-12(NLT)
There is a reality that one day Jesus will break through the Eastern skies and change everything; he will come in the clouds and in glory and, with finality, reconcile everyone and everything in creation to the Father’s will.  This is our blessed hope and faith.  His resurrection and bodily return, to set at right that which has been so wrong, is the center of all that Christians hold dear.
In the church we sing, talk, and think a lot about the second coming of Jesus, and that reunion we are anticipating with loved ones who have gone one to be with God.  Just consider hymns we sang:  We’ll Understand It Better By and By, and Victory in Jesus. These point to that blessed moment when we see our loved ones, and our Lord Jesus.  But, besides thinking about what’s going to happen in the future, we also have to understand what we should be concentrating on in the here and now!    
So, James gives us some Godly advice as to what to do while we’re waiting for the return of our Lord:

Have Patience like a Farmer

James uses the illustration of the farmer.  Prepare, plant, protect, nurture, and…….wait!  It’s a long process, but God made it so.  The only thing the farmer can do is wait, because you can’t pull a crop from the ground before it is ready; if you do, it won’t be worth anything.  So, if you’re an impatient farmer you need to develop some patience, or get a new job!
When you come to the table of living your life, bring patience.  How, preacher?  I don’t know…you have to work that out for yourself.  Mainly, I would say, ask God for it, because it is not natural.  We are all impatient.
And while you’re being patient, make certain you’re working on the right kind of crop.  Remember that eternity is long, and whatever you grow is what you’ll reap. 
I had a friend named Eddie once who was a sower.  One day Eddie and I, along with a couple of other friends went to play golf.  Eddie and Jeff were in one cart; while I rode with our other friend.  My partner drove his ball to the left, and the rest of us hit to the right side.  After we located the lone ball on the left, we drove to where Eddie and Jeff were waiting with the other three balls. 
Crossing the fairway, we saw Eddie kicking a ball into the sand trap…then he stepped on it – hard!  He was sowing that golf ball – he mashed it into the ground!
When we arrived, Eddie had that look on his face – like when you’re about to get your pocket picked.  He said, as he pointed to the golf ball seedling, Preacher, your ball is in an awful fix.  I got up close to the ball – it wasn’t mine!  Jeff looked – it wasn’t his; the only ball it could be belonged to our resident golf ball farmer. 
Dear ones, believe it when the Bible says YOUR SINS WILL FIND YOU OUT[2]. 
Have patience like a farmer!  What else do we do while we’re waiting?

Proclaim the Kingdom like a Prophet

Living your life in a manner worthy of eternity means you will stand for that which will stand in eternity.  That means sharing God with people, proclaiming the Kingdom.  Here are a few Kingdom principles for proclaiming God’s reign:

Show up

To show up means being deeply involved in the things of God as a priority, not a hobby. 

Have faith – serving Christ is not a game

Besides showing up, there is raising the ante.  The kingdom is no game, but people won’t take your claim that Jesus is Lord seriously if you try to serve in just your own strength.  It is His Spirit that is in charge…never His servants.

Proclaim – no time to be timid

When it comes to proclaiming the Kingdom, we need to remember that farmers and prophets are not lazy people.  If there is a God to be served, His people need to learn how to throw themselves into the work with everything they’ve got!
Have patience like the farmer, proclaim the Kingdom like a prophet, and…

Have Perseverance like Job

Job had it all – then he had it all taken away.  He went from hero to zero in an afternoon.  His wife got so discouraged she told her husband, why don’t you just curse God and die?  Job hung in there. 
This Old Testament father wasn’t patient like some say; he was actually quite ticked!  Job wanted an answer.  But he did hang in there, and that’s what perseverance is all about.  You know that God is in charge, so you play by His rules, and leave the results to Him.  Patience, Proclamation, Perseverance, and….

Keep Purity in All Your Days

James said a word about our words.  Frankly, what proceeds out of the mouths of even Christians these days would have made our grandparents turn in their graves. 
All your words are worship, so don’t offer slop to our Lord.  He is the Sovereign God of the universe, not the man upstairs.  God knows us, and He hears our words
If God is holy it makes sense to be careful to keep our lives and our words clean!
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.  Hebrews 4:12(NLT)

Wrong Idea – Right Idea

In Daniel 4 we read the story of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.  He was – to say the least – full of himself. 
God used the Babylonian king to teach Israel a lesson; he was able to defeat Jerusalem and enslave the nation.  This was the captivity that we read about in Daniel.[3]  Nebuchadnezzar was the one who had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego thrown into the fiery furnace; God delivered them, but the king’s humility was short-lived. 
He surveyed his kingdom and imagined he had created Wonderland.  Nebuchadnezzar celebrated his own greatness by creating a gold statue of himself, 9 feet wide and 90 feet tall.  Everyone was to bow down and worship towards that statue whenever the trumpet sounded in the city.  Nebuchadnezzar imagined he was God.
One day God, the real sovereign God of all creation, messed with everything Nebuchadnezzar had.  The king wound up a madman; for the next seven years he wandered the countryside, drooling on himself, grazing on grass like a wild animal. At the end of his days, the Lord allowed his mind to return to normal, and Nebuchadnezzar finally gave God His due.  
Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way.  We can’t say too much about that because most of us follow in those footsteps.  And that’s a little strange, because we know better.  It is much better and easier on human beings to make our plans to honor God, with a view on eternity rather than just what we want.
And that is the simplicity of what to do while you’re waiting for the second coming.  It’s God’s way – it’s the good way!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Let the church say “Amen”!

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[1] Title Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
[2] Numbers 32:23
[3] Daniel 3 & 4

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