This advent
season, I would like to introduce a new theme.
Advent is a time of preparation.
We look forward to celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. It is also a time to look
forward to His second coming. With that
in mind, over the next four weeks, we will look at some of the purposes which
Jesus came the first time and some that He will be coming to complete in His
second coming.
Isaiah
25:6-9; 26:1-6
The first
Sunday of Advent, we will look at how: Jesus came to EXECUTE JUSTICE
What does
that mean? For me, it means that He came
to bring back what is right. People had
lost focus. God had not spoken for 400
years. The religious officials were
doing the right things for the wrong reasons.
The people had become lost and complacent. In the times of the prophet Malachi, God
warns the people because they have broken covenants through their pitiful
sacrifices, their injustice, and willful disobedience. God lays it all out to them about how they
have disobeyed Him. As time goes on,
they continue to disobey Him. Sure,
there are those who know the law. There
are those who follow the law to the letter.
But those same people who are following the law are twisting it so that
they feel justified and they can do what they desire. God doesn't stand for disobedience. He wanted justice.
Jesus came
to bring justice to His people. He
didn't come in the way that one might think.
He didn't execute justice in the way that people would have
guessed. He didn't come and follow the
law and make those of the law feel better about themselves. He did the unexpected. He came as a baby not born to human royalty. He came as a baby who grew up without a lot
of fanfare. He grew up and didn't follow
the rules set by the religious as people thought He should. The justice He brought was for the poor and
oppressed…it was for the sinners…the outcasts…the cast down. Jesus didn't come for those who already
thought a great deal about themselves…they felt justified by their good
works. They were following the law, to
their benefit. The religious leaders
excluded many people…Jesus touched them.
Jesus came
to show the people what following God really meant. He brought hope where hope had been lost
(Isaiah 9:2). He turned over tables of
money changers, He blew the minds of those who thought they were doing
everything perfect, He showed them that God is a God of hope...Hope for those
who were lost, hurting, abandoned.
Jesus
continues to do that. He continues to
challenge us. We think we have it together
as a church. We think we have it
together as Christians. But, if we read
His Word, we realize over and over again where we miss it. We miss what it means to really worship…to
obey…to follow…to love.
Jesus will
come again…He will finish what He started.
When He does, justice will be fulfilled completely…Revelation 21:6,
"He said to me: 'It is done. I am
the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost
from the spring of the water of life.
Those who are victorious will inherit all of this, and I will be their
God and they will be my children.'"
For those who have gone their own way and
forsaken the Lord, there is a justice for them as well. It is described as the lake of fire. Justice has come, justice will come again.
What does
that mean for me and you? It means that
we have to look at who we are and what we are doing. Our actions should reflect what is on the
inside. If we know Jesus Christ as our
Lord and Savior, then that should not be hidden, but like the candle lit this
morning, should light the way of hope.
Maybe it's time we start getting serious about our faith and following
the One whose coming we celebrate this month.
Maybe it's time we look at ourselves to inspect if we are following the
justice of God or the justice of man.
Maybe it's time we take a look at who it is we follow.
