Gloria Dei Lutheran Church | Urbandale, Iowa

Christmas Playlist - Better Watch Out

Pastor Phillips’ Sermon

Sunday, November 29, 2009

[Video. Christmas music. They say that he knows who’s been naughty and nice so you better watch out. Are we talking about the guy in the red suit? Well, for many, that might be what you think of. But there really is someone who knows all that we do and He is coming. We are entering that season of the year when we get ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus or we sometimes say His first coming. First, because we know that He is coming again. The question is whether that’s good news or troubling news and does it have anything to do with you being naughty or nice? Better watch out. Is that an expression of eager anticipation or a word of warning?]

You better watch out. Um. It doesn’t sound real positive, does it? It’s kind of a negative way to start our thoughts about worship and God and all of those kinds of things. So let’s begin with a prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you’ve brought us here today. We thank you for the season of Advent, a season of preparation and anticipation for the great celebration of the birth of the Savior but it’s also a time when we look forward to the second coming of our Lord and we pray that you bless us and prepare us and equip us during this time. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

You better watch out. As we remember the words of that old familiar song, Santa is portrayed as the great judge who knows all. We’re told that he’s evaluating our performance and he’s watching our behavior and that he’s keeping score and he’s making a list. In fact, he’s making two lists, isn’t he? There’s the naughty list and the nice list. And we’re told that, as he watches our behavior, if we’re doing good, then we get on the good list and that sets us up to receive all kinds of gifts when he comes.

But for more than 1,000 years, Christians have prepared for the celebration of the birth of our Savior with the season of Advent, the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. Advent is also a time when we look forward to the second coming of Jesus, a time when He doesn’t come as a meek and mild little baby but as the almighty God coming on the clouds of heaven.

The scriptures encourage us to keep watch. In fact, the scripture passage I read earlier, the gospel reading, said three times, “Keep watch. Keep watch. Keep watch.” And the reason for that is simple. We do not know when He’s coming. That might sound kind of frustrating. We don’t know, no one knows, we don’t know when He’s coming. We’ve heard all kinds of predictions over the years, that He’s coming back in 2012 or 2010 or 1999 or all these different predictions. But the reality is no one knows. And for us, that’s a struggle. We don’t like not knowing. We like to be aware and have it nailed down and be able to prepare and expect something that’s going to happen. But Jesus says, “You don’t know. No one knows. But keep watch.”

At first blush, that might be kind of frustrating, to have somebody tell you to keep watch when you don’t know when it’s going to happen. But there are some wonderful, positive results that can happen in our faith life through this watching. You see, the bible clearly tells us that when Jesus is about to come back, there are going to be all kinds of signs, signs in the heavens, signs on the earth. Mark 13 says this, “But in those days, following that distress, the sun will be dark and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time, men will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory and He will send His angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. Now learn this lesson from the fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.” So in these times, times when we anticipate Christmas, times when we anticipate the second coming of our Lord and Savior, God wants us to pay attention to what’s going on in the world around us. He wants us to pay attention to the conflicts and the struggles in other parts of the world. He wants us to watch what is happening in our country, in our state and in our local community because, in these events, we can see signs indicating that He will soon return. He wants us to keep watch and to pray.

Watching and praying is an excellent way for us as Christians to exercise our faith and to be ready for Jesus when He comes again. In our prayers, we remember the promises that God has made to us. In our prayers, we confess our faith to Him and our trust in Him. In our prayers, we draw near to God and we place our burdens on His shoulders. In our prayers, we experience the peace of knowing that we are not alone with our struggle. Jesus is with us. Philippians 4 says, “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

So watching what’s going on in the world around us can lead to some positive results in our faith as we draw near to God. And here are some examples of events in the world that we can pray about. It’s been a little over a year, maybe almost a year and a half since that devastating earthquake in the Sichuan Province of China. In one earthquake, 69,000 people died. 15 million people were displaced or became homeless as a result of that earthquake. Now, as Christians reading these headlines, we can get on our knees and pray for the 69,000 families grieving the loss of a loved one. We can pray for those 15 million people who are homeless as a result of that earthquake. We can pray for them and we can pray for the missionaries working among them, that in the midst of this chaos and tragedy, they will find the love of Jesus and hear the message of forgiveness.

Another headline I saw as I was looking on the CNN website was “U.S. faces military pack up in Iraq.” And it talked about the huge scope of packing up all the supplies that we sent over, all the machinery, the vehicles and everything that’s stockpiled there. The huge task, every night there are over 100 convoys traveling from base to base and getting ready to be deployed elsewhere or things like that. And as Christians, when we read a headline like that, we can pray for all kinds of things. We can pray for our government to use wisdom in the exercise of its military power. We can pray for the people of Iraq who find themselves now in transition and a real test of their democracy. We can pray that in the midst of their freedoms, there will also be the freedom of religion and they’ll be free to worship Jesus. We can pray that our soldiers coming home will find love and support and healing for the painful things they’ve experienced.

Every headline we see is an opportunity for us to pray. As I was on the CNN website, there was not an ad but sort of like an appeal that jumped out at me and it said this, “Impact your world. What would happen if everyone cared?” There’s a picture of two people who are obviously malnourished and in poor health. What would happen if everyone cared? What would happen if every time we saw the news and watched things that were happening in our country or some other country in the world, if every time we saw that, we prayed? What would happen? What would happen if every Christian watching the news prayed for the events they were witnessing? What would happen if everything was a cause for prayer?

These and other events give us opportunities to take action in faith by praying for those who suffer throughout the world. Now following Jesus’ direction to keep watch can also have a positive result when we watch our behavior. In the song, You Better Watch Out, watching your behavior has potential of benefiting you by giving you gifts. If you behave well, here come the gifts. Santa’s bringing them, all that. When we behave well, we get on the nice list. But you know what? With God, that’s not our motivation because we’re already on the nice list with God. We know that it’s by grace through faith in Jesus Christ that we are on God’s nice list, that we receive His forgiveness, that we receive eternal life, that we receive all the blessings He has designed for us. And it’s a good thing we’re on that nice list already because there’s no way we could earn it. Who could get on God’s nice list by being good? Is there anybody who is without sin? The scriptures make it very clear, don’t they? All of us have sinned and fall short of the life that God wants us to live. So God, through Jesus, puts us on that nice list of receiving all of His blessings by His grace.

So why should we watch our behavior? If it’s not gaining us anything in our relationship with God, why should we watch our behavior? The answer is this: It won’t make God love you any more if you behave well but it might help someone else come to know that God loves them. This is what it says in 1 Peter 2, “Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.” Did you get what it said? Live such good lives. Our behavior, our good behavior has the potential to change someone’s eternal destiny. By watching us or being in our company and witnessing the fruits of the spirit in our lives, peace, joy, gentleness, kindness and all those other wonderful things that God does in us, people can be drawn to Jesus. They can be drawn to Christianity and a relationship with God and an awareness and an experience of His love. When you think about that, that just by your actions, you can influence somebody in a wonderful way. You could even view your lifestyle as a mission.

Another reason to watch our behavior is that it’s a way that we can say thank you to God for all that He’s done for us. When we watch our words, we’re thanking God for sending His Son to be our Savior. When we watch our actions, we’re thanking God that He’s given us heaven as a free gift. When we watch our conduct at work and at home, we’re thanking God for all that He’s done and for everything that He’s provided.

The words of the song say “You better watch out. You better not cry.” But Jesus urges us to take special note of those who weep, those who grieve, those who are suffering around us. Hear what Jesus says in Matthew 25, “Then the king will come and say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The king will reply, ‘I tell you the truth. Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”

As we watch our family, friends and neighbors, we see them struggling with the hard things of life and this is the perfect time to let the love of Jesus that is in us shine out. These seasons of pain are just the time for us as Christians to turn our compassion into action. This is when you take your friend out for coffee or invite your coworker to church. This is when you drop off the casserole at the house down the street where they just lost a loved one. This is the time when you take a day off from work and show up at the local Habitat for Humanity project. This is the time when you pick up a gift card for the Giving Tree or sign up to go Christmas caroling to the homebound members of our church. This is the time when you show Jesus to the world that so desperately needs His love and mercy. This is the time.

In this Advent season, when we look forward to the second coming of Jesus, we are called to watch, not to get on God’s nice list. We know we’re already on that. We’re called to watch what is going on in the world so we can see when Jesus is about to return. We’re called to watch what is going on in the world so we can pray for those who are suffering. We’re called to watch our behavior, not to impress God so He’ll bless us but to say thanks and to attract others to Him. We’re called to watch what is going on in the lives of the people who God has placed within our sphere of influence so that the love of Jesus can flow out of our lives and into theirs.

When you consider the powerful impact of your watching, listening to Jesus’ command to keep watch, then don’t you think we better watch out? Amen.