In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

Today, we begin the season of Advent. The word "Advent" means "coming." Every year at this time, we remember our Savior's coming. There are three aspects to our Savior's coming. He came as the long-promised Savior. He comes into our hearts through His Word. And He will come again on the Last Day. That's what this particular text is talking about. God's people want to be ready and waiting, because...

1. THE LONG-PROMISED SAVIOR

Let's let our minds drift back in time, all the way to the beginning. When God made this world, everything was perfect. But then, our first parents fell into sin. And sin separated mankind from God. God could have struck Adam and Eve dead on the spot, but he didn't. Instead, he promised a Savior on the very day that they fell into sin. He promised a Savior who would crush the devil's power and bring salvation to people. That first Gospel promise was spoken in the Garden of Eden. And then God continued to repeat and clarify that promise all through the Old Testament.

God revealed that the Savior would be born from the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He would be a descendant of King David too. He would be born of a virgin, in the little town of Bethlehem, yet his origins would be in eternity. There are many Old Testament passages that foretell the coming of the Savior. God spoke through the prophets announcing the coming of the Savior. Then finally, at the end of the Old Testament, we come to the book of Malachi. There, in chapter three, we read these words, "'See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,' says the LORD Almighty." (3:1). First a special messenger, or forerunner, would come to prepare the way before the Savior. And then, the Savior would come.

And so, believers of the Old Testament were studying those Bible passages and waiting for the coming of the long-promised Savior. And finally, when the time was just right, He came! And he did what he came to do. He lived for us a pure and holy life. He died on the cross as the offering and sacrifice for sin. He redeemed us, and rose from death with our forgiveness. Now, we live in the New Testament, and we can say, "You are forgiven through Jesus Christ! Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved!" And it is important that people hear that Gospel, and believe in the one and only Savior before it is too late, because... He's coming!

2. OUR LORD, THE JUDGE OF ALL

Yes, our Lord is coming again to judge the living and the dead. And we've been talking about this for weeks! He has told us what the basis of the judgment will be: people who believe in him as Savior will go to heaven, and unbelievers will go to hell.

But, for now, we are living in the waiting period. Our Savior has not yet returned, and so we can still say, "He's coming!" Our Savior has not yet returned. So, this is our time of grace. This is the time to get serious about hearing and learning God's Word. This is the time to reach out to others, before it is too late. Once Christ returns, it will be too late. So, we want to do mission work, here and abroad, before our Savior comes.

But that's not all! We also want to serve our Lord faithfully! This is the time to worship him! This is the time to thank and praise and serve and obey him. This is the time to serve him with our time and talents and treasures. Our Lord said, (34) "It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch." Our Savior wants us to keep watch.

Some years ago a tourist was traveling in Northern Italy. He wanted to visit a castle called Villa Arconti. When the tourist reached the castle, a friendly old gardener opened the gate and showed the tourist the grounds, which this old man kept in pristine order. "How long have you been here?" the tourist asked. "Twenty-four years," replied the gardener. "And how often has the owner of the castle been here during that time?" "Four times." "When was he here the last time?" "Twelve years ago." "Never since then?" "Never." "Does he write to you?" "No." "From whom then do you get your instructions?" "From his agent at Milan." 'Does this agent come here quite often?" "Never." "Then, who comes here?" "I am almost always alone - only once in a great while a tourist comes here." "But you keep this garden in such fine condition and take such excellent care of all the plants, just as though you expected your master to come tomorrow." "Today, sir, today," the old gardener promptly replied. This answer made a deep impression on the tourist. How faithful that old man was to his trust! Day after day his thought was not "Tomorrow the master may come" but "Today, sir, today." The Lord calls upon those who work in his vineyard to be faithful, even if it seems like they are serving alone and unnoticed. We must think, Today my Lord may return. I must work and be ready today!

Yes, dear friends, that is the Christian attitude, because we believe what the Bible says... He's coming!

3. "KEEP WATCH"

Are you ready? Are you ready for our Lord's return? Sometimes, when we ask people this, they say that they are, but are really not sure. Sometimes, they are not ready and think that they are. For example, when I was a home missionary, we were encouraged in making evangelism calls to ask people a couple of questions. One of them was, "If you were to die tonight, are you certain that you would go to heaven?" The other one was, "If God were to ask you, 'Why should I let you into heaven, what would you say?'" It was amazing to me how many people would say, "Well, because I'm a good person." There are a lot of people walking all around us who just like this. They think they are going to heaven because they are pretty good.

But take another look at our Old Testament lesson! Isaiah 64:6 says, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." Even our best efforts are tainted by sin! We are not "pretty good" at all! And "pretty good" won't get anyone into heaven. You have to be perfect. And that's why Jesus came, to live for us, and die for us, and win our forgiveness. I hope that you know this and believe it too!

And if you do, that's great, but then, there's something else. You probably know very well that we encourage people to come to church often. And you probably know that if you don't come for a while, we are going to want to encourage you to return. Some people might think that we are simply perpetuating the institution known as St. Stephen. Actually, it is not that at all! It is that we know, from God's Word, that there is great danger that believers will drift away. And that is also mentioned in our Old Testament lesson. God did not make those Old Testament people wander away from him at first! But here's what happened. God called the people, and some of them followed. But then, over time, they just drifted away. They wandered on their own. And though the prophets called them to return, they would not return to the Lord. So do you know what the Lord did? He judged them! That's right, they had become unbelievers, and so God judged them. He simply let them go! There comes a time when God's punishment to unrepentant sinners is to just let them have their own way, and then they are finally condemned. That's what Isaiah 64:7 is talking about when it says, "No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins." Finally, God just turned them loose, let them go, and hid his face.

May that NEVER happen to any of us! May we repent of all sins before it is too late! May we believe in Jesus and seek his forgiveness in the gospel. And may we not stray from God's Word! Don't believe the devil's lies! Don't let the wicked world lead you astray with all of its alluring temptations. Don't let your sinful flesh take over, leading you away from God's Word and into all sorts of sins. Don't trifle with God's grace!

But the only one who can give us the strength to be ready when Christ returns is God. And God gives us that strength through the gospel in Word and Sacrament. Return often to the source of strength, and God will make your faith stronger. Then, may we be found ready, by faith in Christ Jesus! May we be faithful in God's vineyard, serving him faithfully, remembering that he could return today. Keep watch, because "He's coming!" Amen.